Gone With The Wind - A Review

Rating - ****

I finally saw Gone With The Wind a couple of days ago. Now, here was a movie I was curious about, and one which I wanted to see before I read the novel (I've found that the opposite rarely gives you a good experience). I didn't know what to expect. I just knew that it was a (love) story set during the time of the Civil War. What I found was something truly spectacular.

I can't possibly even explain the story if I wanted to. The movie itself is 4 hours long! Perhaps in one sentence it would be the entire turn of events that make Scarlett O'Hara realise that she loves Rhett Butler. There.

*phew*

I won't say that the story seemed convoluted or unrealistic. I could actually imagine such situations as were depicted. And the characters - wow! Scarlett O'Hara selfishness and self-centredness is the main vein (vain?) of the movie. Vivien Leigh's portrayal of the land heiress is so honest that at times you just want to slap her silly for being herself. She amazes you and apalls you. You root for her and you want to scream at her. And through all her pettiness, somewhere you form a grudging admiration for her. For me, it was the scene where she stands upon the barren land of her family's plantation and says,

"As God is my witness, as God is my witness they're not going to lick me. I'm going to live through this and when it's all over, I'll never be hungry again. No, nor any of my folk. If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill. As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again."

Rhett Butler. What do I say about him. He's a rogue. I thought him to be pretty spineless, marrying Scarlett even though she loved Ashley. You do something like that, you can't blame her entirely. But he did hit me hard with his parting line,

"Frankly, my dear, I do not give a damn."

The third character I really liked was that of Melanie's. I generally don't like goody-two-shoes or sappy characters or characters who are completely white (in a totally non-racist manner). I prefer characters with shades of grey. But for some reason Melly completely captured my heart. For reasons unknown, that character felt like a breath of fresh air. I loved her. She's possibly my favourite character from the movie.

For the first time in God knows how many years, I've chosen a sappy goody-two-shoes as my favourite character. Mark this time for it may never come again :D