"Pandora's Box" (1928)

I've never seen a performer like Louise Brooks. Sure, I've witnessed stars with some of her qualities (the rapturous sexuality, the stunning allure, the devil may care attitude, the almost borderline self-awareness that she's got the audience wrapped around her finger), but never to this degree and combination. Brooks was a silent film star but she'd fit right at home in a modern film. Everyone in Pandora's Box is unmemorable, playing the close to cliche schtick, except for Brooks, who is unforgettable. In G.W. Pabst's film, as Lulu, she found material extraordinarily well suited for her talents. She's a seductress, a sex idol, a con, a drifter, and, though the film doesn't says it, probably a prostitute. But there's no moralizing or denigrating here. The film is fascinated by the raging blackhole that is Lulu. She destroys everything in her path, and then is so charming and indifferent and totally in control that we and the characters forgive her. And Brooks is simply a force of nature. She's such a distinctive presence that everything else just fades away. The film creates a space for her to simply be, and Brooks relishes in the opportunity -- and we relish in watching her have at it.

Grade: ★★★★