They Won’t Believe Me

Lots of fun with the “unreliable narrator” motif.  Right off the bat you’re set up to doubt what we’re about to hear, and throughout the film you’re wondering how much of Robert Young’s story is truth.  Young is the finest I’ve ever seen him, playing an absolute heel who doesn’t quite know (or does he?) how much of a heel he is.  The three women in his life — Susan Hayward, Jane Greer, and Rita Johnson — are all top-notch as well, none of them portraying simple archetypes.  It’s not a film that screams greatness, and at first it seems rather ho-hum.  But after a while you realize how well it’s working on you, and despite seeming familiar you’ve never really sure where it’s going to go next.  The ending in particular has a completely unexpected turn.  Rating: 8

IMDb