A
drama which derives dramatic force from the tensions between a group of four
friends who are also colleagues and lovers. The titular Eve is unsympathetic,
and by force of contrast, if nothing else, the audience gradually becomes more
sympathetic to another character, played by Bette Davis, who is a gifted and ebullient
individual, but insecure. The screenplay is a good example of what can be
achieved given the correct mix of personalities and the introduction of an
external element, in this case the ambitious Eve.
A
short while after Eve’s arrival on the scene, Davis’ insecurities flare up. Eve’s sole
focus would seem to be dramatic success, whereas Davis’s character, older, with success
already achieved, has reached a point in her life where other concerns are gaining precedence. The scene where
Davis reveals
these deep insecurities to her married friend is a turning point, marking as it
does the beginning of her winning our support, as well as thawing relations
between her and her friend, which, partly due to Eve’s machinations, have
become strained.
The stand-out scene in terms of Davis’ story (it’s not
really all about Eve) takes place in the Cub Room, a nightclub. This is the
first onscreen occasion where the audience gets evidence that Eve is untrustworthy.
This now explicit threat posed by Eve to the warmth generated by Davis’ newly
announced marriage and the solidarity demonstrated by the four friends as they
celebrate, with the toast “never closer, never to be further apart”, and the
possibility that the playwright’s wife might be coerced into helping Eve, thereby
endangering her relationship (newly strengthened) with Davis’s character, is well
portrayed and is gripping. The role of Davis
in the film’s concern dominates the first two-thirds of the film, and the brilliant
portrayal of her character is a highlight, but we see hardly any of her after
the resolution of her marriage, and the conclusion of the story examines the
repercussions of Eve’s casting in the new play.
The
characters are presented as complete human beings, and their personalities are
clearly defined, and this is key fact from which the success of the work
derives. That said, the dialogue, though highly witty, and full of descriptive
passages, emotional monologues, entertaining set pieces, jokes and verbal
fireworks, is decidedly unrealistic, with the umming and aahing of most normal
speech marked by its absence. However, perhaps these are just exceptional
people, and perhaps emotional and eloquent dialogues with new acquaintances was
a common and acceptable feature of social life during the era of the story’s
setting. A sense of melodrama occasionally manifests itself, but not to an
inexcusable extent.
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