"Casablanca": Timeless or Just Time Consuming?

The movie "Casablanca" hails from the year 1942. I love movies, but shy away from really old ones. Perhaps my being born in 1982 and raised on a diet of puppet filled silliness that has given way to astounding CGI magic is to blame for my distaste for many early "classics." Of course "The Wizard of Oz" got a pass. Or perhaps it is because I feel many of the olden day acting performances do not stand up in comparison to more modern fare. Sure, there were movie stars, but the style of acting from the olden days can seem exaggerated and unrealistic to some of the better pictures of the modern era. Assuming it would not be a relevant or something I could connect with, I avoided "Casablanca" until I was twenty-nine years old and it was out on Blu-ray. I cannot believe I denied "Casablanca" my love, like an ageist bachelor addicted to barely in their twenties, plastic Barbie girls.

"Casablanca" was directed by Michael Curtiz and features the headlining stars Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. It is the story of a cynical man named Rick, who runs a nightclub in Casablanca, a neutral territory during the early days of WW2. The woman who hurt him years prior, Isla, arrives in town with her resistance leader husband and they need the transit papers Rick has in his possession if they are to escape the clutches of the Nazis. Rick is torn between the pains of anger and love, and hopes for the future in deciding whether or not he will help the couple.

The first 45 minutes of the movie can be a tad bit confusing and if you are not a fan of older movies you may give up. "Casablanca" throws the viewer into a world of political happenings at such a quick rate that you are trying to play catch-up on what has and is transpiring. However, once the romance aspect enters the movie all is well, the mysteries of the world you've been thrust into become more understandable intrigue and you can grab some popcorn and a box of tissues.

The acting in this movie ranges from over-the-top corny to superb. Luckily, the silliness is only found in some of the minor characters and works as an oddball source for comic relief. The leads, Bogart and Bergman are right on the money. Ingrid Bergman really dazzles in all of her passionate close-ups.

I was surprised at the depth of conflict within all of the characters. You do not get simple people, but complex and emotional beings that are perfectly gray, and I don't mean because the picture color is in black and white. All of the characters have selfish motivations coupled with their understanding of morals and tendencies to be overwhelmed by the emotions of love. In my opinion, all great love stories have some element of tragedy to them and love is a power that wreaks havoc or saves souls; or better yet, does both. "Casablanca" does not fall in with "classic" movies that have too many caricatures and not enough solid characters. It is strong and indeed stands the test of time.

The complications during the shooting of "Casablanca," have become legendary. It is often told that the script wasn't even finished, with the actors getting new pages and not knowing their characters true motivations until they read the new words for the day on set. If this is true it worked to the movie's benefit in a miracle sort of way, because the final story benefits from the fact that you can actually decide for yourself what the characters were truly feeling. Did Bergman's Isla really love Bogart's Rick? Or was she acting out of survival instinct? It is presented in such a manner that you get to be the ultimate judge after all is said and done. I found that very satisfying.

"Casablanca" is a movie chock-full of epic quotes and if you have not watched the movie you owe it to yourself to give it a chance to sweep you away. The cynic in me wants to point out that the first forty-five minutes were kind of rough and all everyone seemed to do throughout the entire movie was smoke and drink. But the romantic in me, the true movie lover, fell for the pain in Humphrey Bogart's words and the passion in Ingrid Bergman's eyes.