The Citizen Review " A man goes to the movies. A critic must be honest enough to admit that he is that man." -Robert Warshow

"The Red Shoes"

By Jack Meriwether 7/25/10

Upon viewing The Red Shoes, one can't help but get swept up in the large-scale grandeur of the film. It is dark, romantic, funny, eye-popping and also obscure at times. As Roger Ebert says in his Great Movie review, "You don't watch it, you bathe in it."

This film can fool you. In the beginning, The Red Shoes may seem like a charming but seemingly underachieving "backstage drama". But it's far from that. As you peer into it, you see it's whole other side. It's a film that has many beautiful images and moments and one that captures it's actors so very well. Moira Shearer, a ballerina-turned-actress, is ravishingly red-headed in this film. Could it be one of the greatest casting jobs in film history? She's a fierce talent: she acts well, she dances beautifully and her red hair emanates the idea of the red shoes.

The film is all about Boris Lermontov (Anton Walbrook), the fierce and vibrant ballet impresario, trying turn Victoria Page (Shearer) into a ballet sensation and the baggage that comes along with that. It's also about the love between Miss Page and the fledgling composer/conductor Julian Craster (Marius Golding), and how Lermontov will have none of it.

There are many elements that make this film great. One is the stunning art direction. There is a twenty-minute long ballet sequence within the film. The ballet is The Red Shoes, based upon the Hans Christian Anderson story, written in the film by Julian Craster; the amazing thing is that they actually wrote a ballet for the film. The sequence is filmed in a frenzied, dream-like way which captures the spirit of the film: it is beautiful and simple but also dark and enigmatic.

The other element is the casting of Anton Walbrook as Lermontov, the layered impresario. His character is the central role of the film. On the outside he seems harsh and iron-willed, which he his; but as Victoria and Julian get to know him better, they see that he is more than that. He truly loves the ballet and will do anything to make it great.

The ending is certainly drastic and over the top, but for this film, a simple ending would have been completely wrong. In the end, Victoria has a choice to make and either way she chooses, she will be unhappy. The film can't simply end with her heart broken, it has to shatter everything to pieces, which it more or less does. The film is told as a modern fairy tale with a tragic ending. If you pay close attention, you'll see that the storyline of the ballet The Red Shoes repeats itself in the film so the ending is inevitable. You'll have to see what that ending is for yourself.

The Red Shoes is the quintessential film about ballet, just like Singin' in the Rain was for the film industry. It is grand, spectacular, mind-bending and just plain startling to behold.