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Now, Voyager (1942)
A half-century before ’90s rom-coms taught us that removing eyeglasses was the surest way to reveal latent hotness, Bette Davis was getting Oscar nominations for unpacking that idea.
And deservedly so! Now, Voyager explores the transformation of a reclusive 30-something (Davis) escaping from under the thumb of her tyrannical mother (Gladys Cooper)—ditching her frumpy dresses, woolly eyebrows and heavy specs—and setting out for life and love on a South American ocean liner.
It sounds silly until you see the way that Davis, as would-be spinster Charlotte Vale, marshals her one-of-a-kind face and one-of-a-kind facial control to animate anxiety, guilt and liberation with mouth posture and eye contact.
Charlotte’s is a hard-won glamour, shape-shifting across this unpredictable character study. And by the time she falls for Paul Henreid (one year before Casablanca), she is believably both a different person and the same one who was chain-smoking and plowing through escapist novels back at home, dying to be reborn.
Now, Voyager plays March 21 at Cinema 21, part of renowned programmer Elliot Lavine’s four-part Bette Davis vs. Joan Crawford series.
Also Playing:
Academy: Death Becomes Her (1992), Song of the Sea (2014) and Fitzcarraldo (1982), March 18 and 19. Titanic (1997), Strait-Jacket (1964) and News From Home (1976), March 20–24. Cinema 21: The Room (2003), March 20. Big Shark (2023), March 21. Cinemagic: Yojimbo (1961) and Sanjuro (1962) double feature, March 22. Yojimbo, March 23. Sanjuro, March 24. Clinton: Scenes From an Occupation (1973), March 18. Showing Up (2022), March 21. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), March 21. Ponyo (2008), March 22. Cult Classics: The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990), March 22. Hollywood: La Llorona (2019), March 18. Wild Boys of the Road (1933), March 19. Nadja (1994), March 21. Ghostkeeper (1984), March 21. Vinyl (2000), March 22. Riverbend (1990), March 24. Tomorrow: Josie and the Pussycats (2001), March 21. Undertow (2009), March 21. Almost Famous (2000), March 22. Stop Making Sense (1984), March 22.
