THE MISFITS

Arthur Miller's screenplay for 'The Misfits' benefits from the same deeply psychological introspection of his masterpieces for the stage, but film functions in a very different manner. Where Miller's plays often existed in contained time and space where dialogue is driving the dramatic action, a film often requires (and certainly a Hollywood film of this period) a wider scope and a stronger emphasis on visual language as a driving force. There are essentially two delivery systems at play here, grinding against one another. There's so much in 'The Misfits' that is both unsaid and over-said, creating the strange experience of feeling like you've missed a beat in a conversation that seems to go for a touch too long, with so many moments driven by extended poetic dialogue scenes. As a result, it's harder to grab a handle on what we should be taking away from these interpersonal relationships, other than being lost souls in search of some sort of answer.

That isn't to say that there aren't dynamic moments in 'The Misfits', but these often come at the hand of John Huston, especially when the dialogue falls away. The climactic mustang muster for example lets the emotional arcs of all four characters come to a head without dialogue, where Huston's innate sense of cinematic language can guide us through their inevitable collapse. Huston and cinematographer Russell Metty ('Touch of Evil') also drive the camera right into the personal spaces of the characters, giving the film an almost voyeuristic quality. So much is being written on the actors' faces, but this does feel at odds with Miller's screenplay, his long poetic passages expressing the inner lives of these characters giving Huston little space to explore. Alex North's histrionic score also doesn't help, adding a third dissonant approach to the material. Where Miller is poetic and introspective and Huston is specific and restrained, North's score is overbearing and dramatic. Not only do we have trouble understanding how to read Miller's text, we have trouble working out how we're supposed to feel about it.

As fascinating as the meta-textual layer is that Gable and Clift bring to the film, the most arresting and uncomfortable element is certainly Marilyn Monroe as Roslyn. It isn't just that this was her final film before her tragic passing, it's that the film feels like it both comments on and participates in the mistreatment that Monroe suffered in her daily life. There's a sense, from the moment Roslyn appears, that she is an object to be possessed, and every man who comes in contact with her attempts to do so. Gay and Guido in particular hang their hat entirely on Roslyn providing some sort of salvation, that owning her will be the answer to all their problems. The tragedy is that Roslyn only knows how to be possessed, but while this is certainly explored by Huston and Miller with sensitivity, and Monroe is given ample opportunity to demonstrate what a remarkable actor she was, the film still falls into the trap of hyper-sexualising her, in ways where it feels like neither character nor actor have any control. This is where the voyeuristic quality moves from fascinating to perhaps unnecessary. It's a great pity because, as strong as Gable is in particular, Monroe is the most arresting performance in the film. Again, it's hard to know whether this is the film itself or influenced by everything surrounding it, but she doesn't take the easy route of playing Roslyn as simply broken. There's such a sense of past to her, of accumulated sadness that erupts with great fury in the film's climax, but all of that feels entirely earned.

That is one aspect of 'The Misfits' that really stays with you - as confused as its craft and intentions are, it always feels like it's being brutally honest about the fears and anxieties of being a human being alone in the world. We want to see them succeed or find their place, but in the end, they are broken or malformed objects, desperately clinging to the idea of one another without realising that, the harder they grip, the quicker they drown. The counterpoint to this is Roslyn's landlady Isabelle (Thelma Ritter, 'Rear Window'), a woman who has accepted her isolation and has found joy in it and ways to cope. Ritter is a real ray of light in this film, especially in her scenes with Monroe, with Roslyn being the most sympathetic character, offering an alternate path away from the desert. But in the end, the desert calls all four misfits, and their coping mechanisms to survive their loneliness crash into one another with a sickening crunch.

I had not seen 'The Misfits' before reviewing this release from Imprint, but had known it by reputation for most of my adult life. There were certainly unexpected surprises - the first act is much funnier than I expected, Gable and Monroe have great chemistry, and the sequence where Roslyn hits the ball with the bat is equal parts thrilling and foul - but for the most part, it was as I had expected, a film where the circumstances of its existence somehow overshadow the film itself. It's a hard film to fully comprehend, but also to fully shake off. Looking back at it, 65 years after its release, 'The Misfits' is a haunted film, full of ghosts, trapped in stasis, caught between the romanticism and disappointment of the past and the fear and inevitable tragedy of the future. For a film that doesn't entirely work, there's something unexpectedly mystical about it.

PICTURE & SOUND

'The Misfits' looks gorgeous on 4K UHD in this 2160p 1.66:1 transfer with Dolby Vision. The restoration (likely the same used for the Capelight 4K UHD release in 2023) has been done with care, removing unnecessary dirt and damage while preserving the organic film grain. Black and white films really shine in this higher resolution, especially with the tonal balanced offered by high dynamic range. Obviously the image has its limitations when optical fades are used, but those shots untouched by that process are striking in their clarity. It should be noted though that filters are often used to diffuse the image on Monroe's close-ups, a quirk of the film itself that the restoration and higher resolution can't get around.

The 1080p 1.66:1 transfer on the accompanying Blu-ray is also excellent, if not as detailed or tonally balanced. There's more of a defused quality to the image compared to the 4K UHD. It does appear to be from the same restoration.

The audio also benefits from recent restoration with a LPCM 2.0 Mono track. Dialogue and sound effects are clean and balanced, with only the score sounding a bit aggressive in the mix. Miller's dialogue is one of the key features of the film and this audio track ensures that all of it is clear. The film also comes with English subtitles.

SPECIAL FEATURES

Imprint have done a lovely job with this limited edition release of 'The Misfits'. The following special features are included on the Blu-ray disc, with those also included on the 4K UHD noted below...

• Audio commentary by screenwriter / film historian C. Courtney Joyner and film historian / author Julie Kirgo (on 4K UHD and Blu-ray) [NEW]
• Film historian Matthew Sweet on 'The Misfits' [26:29] [NEW]
• 'Making The Misfits - feature documentary created for the PBS series Great Performances in 2002 [55:14]
• 'Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend' - feature-length TV documentary from 1986 [59:43]
• Archival interview with script supervisor Angela Allen [57:31]
• Theatrical Trailer (on 4K UHD and Blu-ray) [3:45]

This collection of special features is a real win for this Imprint release for two reasons: firstly, that each of the major extras is substantial in length and content, and secondly, because this seems to be (from what I can see) the first home video release to include any extras apart from a theatrical trailer. There's a wealth of information from each, the new features (the commentary and interview with Matthew Sweet) starting things off by offering a good retrospective on the film and its legacy. Sweet does a great job also providing additional context for the film's psychology and symbolism.

'Making The Misfits' allows for number of people involved in the production to speak to their experiences, including Arthur Miller and Eli Wallach. The documentary itself reflects those slick making-of specials made for cable in the 1990s and 2000s that became a staple of the DVD era. 'Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend' shows its age more, but while it engages in the uncomfortable sensationalism that often gets in the way of discussions of Monroe, its age also means interviews with people who knew her intimately. Lastly, the extended interview with script supervisor Angela Allen (directed by Derek Pykett) provides insight into both her experience on 'The Misfits' and on several other important Hollywood productions, as well as highlighting the importance of script supervisors in the filmmaking process.

As well as on-disc extras, this release from Imprint comes with a terrific 60-page hardback book, including the essay 'We're All Dying: The Misfits as Haunted Film' from Ivana Brehas (originally published in Senses of Cinema) and a collection of stills from the film. Both the book and the discs are housed in a handsome hard box featuring the original film poster artwork. In fact, this is one of the more striking packages from Imprint in terms of design, the bright yellow really popping on the shelf amongst their other releases.