Lonesome (1928) review

This is a simple story told with efficiency and precision. Two single New Yorkers (Barbara Kent and Glenn Tryon), living lonely lives in tiny apartments and slaving at frantic jobs in a frantic metropolis meet up at a packed, crazed Coney Island, fall in love and are separated. Though there's nothing particularly fancy about the plot or characterization, it's Fejős' creative direction and masterful control of pacing that makes this such a special little movie, a sort-of paean to the power of destiny (for those who choose to believe such a thing exists), romantic love and the kinetic energy of N.Y.C. life in the late '20s. Fejős' resume was sparse and his name barely known, but this is a stand-out from the silent era.