Whirlpool of Fate
Director: Jean Renoir
Year Released: 1925
Rating: 2.0
One of the earliest Renoir pictures lacks the grace of his later works but is of interest mostly for acolytes and buffs to see where he began. A battered woman (Catherine Hessling, more complex as Nana in her next picture) goes through a series of bad situations after her father dies, which includes having her inheritance wasted, her Uncle trying to have his dirty ways with her and a doomed 'fling' with a guy named The Weasel. I never thought this kind of weeping, broad picture worked for Griffith, so it's not like Renoir's inspiration is that solid, although the dream sequence in this (which had to have been influenced by the Surrealists) is much more intriguing.
