The Manxman

Something I've noticed as I've watched Alfred Hitchcock's silent era is that he was fond of using the love triangle as a plot device. Waltzes From Vienna, The Ring, and Easy Virtue are all built around love triangles in one way or another, with it being the driving force of The Ring. I don't know if he was working through something or what, but it is curious how it keeps repeating. The Manxman, his last fully silent production, revisits what The Ring did, but takes it in a new direction. The woman at the center of The Ring was characterized as something of a gold-digger, ditching her long-time beau when the best boxer around came into town, and then going back to her old boyfriend when he beat up the champ. The Manxman gives Kate, the woman at the center of the romantic entanglement, more depth to her agency, and doesn't pit one man as a clear antagonist. The story in brief for context: Pete (a fisherman) and Philip (a lawyer) both love Kate (a barmaid). Philip's parents warn him that marrying below his station will only bring disaster. Pete courts Kate, but while she likes the attention, she really likes Philip. Pete, not being good enough to get approval to marry Kate, leaves town to seek fortune and improve himself. While gone, Kate and Philip start an affair, despite Philip promising Pete he'd "look after" Kate. They receive notice Pete died overseas, but it was an error, and when he comes home, they decide to honor the promise, no matter how much misery it brings them. And when it blows up, it brings everyone misery. When I say all three characters are given depth, I do mean it. Kate is bitter and unhappy in her marriage, but not because Pete is a bad guy; she just doesn't love him. Philip is willing to put his own heart aside for his friend, even though it causes him misery. And Pete's love for Kate, while not reciprocated, is true. None of these people are bad, they're just caught in a bad situation where someone is going to end up unhappy. It would've been so easy to slip into making Kate the harlot stringing both of them along to see who would be a better match, or Philip screwing over his friend because it was convenient, but that never happens. Equally, Hitchcock could've gone for the easy ending here, found a way to make everybody happy, but he plays is realistic here. This is a messy situation and there's no tidy wrap-up. I appreciate that. What holds The Manxman back from being rated any higher is that it just isn't, you know, entertaining. It's well-made, sure, and the drama is played out nicely, but it just isn't a very entertaining movie. I was interested in where it was going while it was going on, but I also couldn't see myself watching it again. It's a curiosity, and with only three silent films left for me to watch, I'm comfortable saying this is one of the better ones. But the silent movie melodramatic style and the downer of a story make it a movie to appreciate more than enjoy.