Search - Mata Hari on DVD

Not really great, but worth watching

Anyechka | Rensselaer, NY United States | 02/15/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This seems like one of those films that sounded better on paper than in the actual finished product. The sets and costumes are gorgeous, the plot (though rather loosely based on the history behind the real Mata Hari) had a lot of potential to be interesting and gripping, and it has four big names heading the bill. Greta Garbo and Ramon Novarro are two of my favorites, and though I haven't seen him in a huge amount of films yet, I've also really enjoyed Lewis Stone in the films I have seen him in. The other big star, Lionel Barrymore, overacts as usual, though he does pull off the role well. (Though I know he was talented in spite of his tendency to overact, it's beyond me why he was once considered a better actor than his brother John.)

However, in spite of the big names, the promising storyline, and the gorgeous costumes and sets, the picture ultimately seems to fall rather flat. Perhaps part of it could be attributed to how this is after all an early talkie, made in 1931; it would take a little bit longer yet for films to lose this stagy feeling, with almost nonstop chatter, and go back to having more freedom of motion and a balance between dialogue and scenes and moments that didn't rely so heavily on constant talk. Many of these lines themselves weren't very dramatic or original, more like empty words used to fill the time. Additionally, it just didn't seem to have a whole lot of dramatic tension or to be a very compelling interesting story till it was well more than halfway over. There's also the problem of how Ramon is supposed to be portraying a Russian aviator. Given his Mexican accent and Mexican appearance, it's not really convincing, though he is as beautiful as always, and does manage to convey his talent and bring depth and emotion to the role in spite of the oftentimes rather lame script. And as in all of her other roles, Garbo also really shines. She always managed to elevate films that would otherwise be outright clunkers to something interesting and at a higher level due to her subtlety and her electric presence, not to mention how beautiful she was even when she had to wear some pretty ridiculous outfits, as she does here (particularly her hats). Basically (in my opinion at least), it's one of those films that one watches just to see the stars of because they made it interesting by their mere presence, whereas, had the leads been lesser-talented and less-captivating actors, one might not be all that inclined to want to watch it."