You would think because of my love for all things western, that my favorite movie is a western. Think again. Then you might suppose that I have fallen under the spell of the magic of one of those new films with all its enchantment of animation and graphics. Wrong again. Have I been captured by one of those scary vampire movies with shape shifters and creatures of the night? The answer again is no. My favorite movie is one I first saw back in 1943 when I was sixteen years old. Its title is Now, Voyager and it stars Bette Davis and Paul Henreid. Why am I so enamored of this film? I don't know. Maybe it's the plot. The story revolves around Charlotte Vale, a middle-aged repressed spinster who is completely dominated by her over-bearing, demanding mother. As the story unfolds she struggles to become independent of her mother. It's not an easy transition but she finally blossoms into a strong, confident woman. Then she falls in love with a married man. On second thought, the plot is trite and at times, contrived. As plots go it's about as ordinary as plots can get.
Maybe it's the characters. A middle-aged ugly duckling that changes into a self-confident swan and a married man who falls in love with the swan and is too weak to breaks the bonds of an unhappy marriage so he can be with her? Neither of these characters possesses the sterling qualities I would say portray a hero or a heroine. It couldn't be the characters.
It must be the ending. I'm a sucker for happy endings. But the ending isn't exactly happy. I'd say it's more like satisfying. I'm back to square one. My favorite movie of all time is Now, Voyager. I'm danged if I know why.
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