A sweet country girl named Anna(Lillian Gish) gets tricked by a lustful wealthy womanizer named Lennox Sanderson(Lowell Sherman). He fakes their marriage, leaves her when she has a baby and her baby dies in the poor conditions she lives in. Anna goes to work on the farm and at the farm is a young farmer named David (Richard Barthelmess) who loves her, however, Anna doesn't want to be with him due to her past.
The great silent actress Lillian Gish brings a wonderful performance. Her facial expressions (Just like in her films) make you feel for her and root for her throughout the film. Her character is really so lovable and innocent that you just have to feel the pain she's feeling. This is indeed one of her best performances.Now the supporting cast are all memorable, even the ones who show for a short time. In fact, there are a few romantic sub plots with other characters when Anna starts to work on the farm. I'd love to point them all out but I'll just talk about her love interest and the villain. David is like a Prince. Love at first sight, romantic moments, saves the girl and the end. His character isn't bland but he is predictable but back in the day, most love films were like that and there are a lot of good scenes with him and Gish together. My favorite scene is when they're in a field of flowers by a waterfall. The villain is not someone who's threatening, he's just an asshole. What makes the performance and villain so good, is his facial expressions. Every time you see him, he has that sinister classy look and a perverted face that shows his lust for woman. The characters are all good.
The music in the film is good. Most of the time, the music would just loop the same tune or play a public domain song but there are scenes where the music plays a big part. One of my favorites with the music is when the villain tells her the truth. There's very little dialogue going on in the scene and just by listening to the dramatic music, you can tell that argument between them is intense. Instead of showing subtitles of her telling the villain about the baby, the music plays "Rock -A-Bye Baby" to indicate that she has a baby coming and to me that makes the scene more effecting. The music also gives the scenes with her and David a good romantic feel and I love the eerie music for when ever you see the villain. The film also has a good narrative structure and makes it easy for the viewers to follow. However, I do question why did the film start going by chapters and then stop? Oh and yes the film is very long but don't worry (Like "Birth Of A Nation") it's a two act film.
D.W. Griffiths directing is always impressive and this film has a good amount of it, but his best scene and the part that many people remember is the climax.The climax takes place on a frozen river during a snow storm, she lies unconscious on a frozen pond, the Ice breaks and there's an ice-flow heading down a waterfall and David has to save her. This scene is what makes the movie. It has a thrilling score, the suspense builds and builds and it looks realistic. It's one of the best climaxes to ever be put on film.
The film is well told, has good acting, a decent score, nice characters and a climax that tops the whole film. One of D.W. Griffiths best films.
RATING 5/5
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