THE THIN MAN (1934) *** William Powell lives the good life with Myrna Loy, charms the hotel staff, knocks out bad guys, throws glorious parties, and solves mysteries, all between drinks. A true renaissance man, it's a pity he shows no interest in playing an instrument. There are many clever lines, and the stars deploy, more than deliver, them. It's easy enough to write a love story about a couple meeting, or having their idyllic lives interrupted by tragedy, but this film represents the pinnacle of romance the hard way: happy couple stays that way, and nothing's going to stop them. Well, where's the adventure in that? Not a good question, but an illuminating one. For all the crooks and cops, lawyers and detectives, tailors and taxis, dogs and reporters and drinks, the high drama comes when Powell and Loy are alone, talking to each other. There's that effortlessness, that sense of their own unique space, very much a sense that everything else is illusory anyway. So, it's something of a religious film. A couple like that are easy to direct (shut up and get out of the way), but W. S. Van Dyke has to be applauded for the way that he allows the rest of the film to swirl by around them. Tremendous pacing and counterpoint, a lot of characters shuffled in and out without distraction, major events that don't really matter and are treated that way. William Henry is very funny, too, but only because Powell is magnanimous enough to leave him some room.
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