I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING
A film review by Jeff Meyer
Copyright 1989 Jeff Meyer
[Seen at the Seattle International Film Festival]
I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING (Great Britain, 1945) Director/Producer/Screenwriters: Michael Powell and Eric Pressburger (The Archers) Cast: Wendy Hiller, Roger Livesey, Pamela Brown, Finlay Currie, Capt. C. W. R. Knight, Petula Clark, Valentine Dyall, Nancy Price, John Laurie, Jean Cadell
[Part of the TRIBUTE TO MICHAEL POWELL series]
One of the first films that Powell & Pressburger produced under their Archers emblem, this is a romantic comedy that works very well, due mainly to casting (of both major and minor roles) and a decent script. It also attempts to capture a magical Scottish atmosphere in the bargain; it's a respectable attempt, but it only seems to ferment at the very end of the picture. However, there is enough good work going on elsewhere in the picture to leave a satisfying taste in one's mouth throughout its running time.
Wendy Hiller plays Joan Webster, a strong, materialistic woman who has finally manipulated her millionaire boss into marriage; before leaving for Scotland to meet her fiance, Joan describes to her father how everything in her life is going exactly as she had planned it to, and that this is the culmination of her dreams. Her father warns her that the best things in life are often the ones which aren't planned, and of course he turns out to be right by the end of the film. (Fathers always are in films like this.) While waiting to get across the loch to the island castle owned by her fiance, Joan meets a brace of eccentric characters who live in the area, including Roger Livesey as Torquil, the local laird who has just returned from the war. The two begin to fall in love, with Joan's dreams of financial independence hindering and the awful weather over the loch helping the budding relationship. The varied personalities and activities of the locals, along with the ruins of a castle and its ancient curse on Torquil, keep I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING from having any bare spots; and the performances of Hiller and Livesey make for a very fine romance, indeed.
According to Maltin, this isn't out on video yet; however, with the continued interest in Powell & Pressburger's work, it may not be long before it is available. A solid romantic comedy with a bit more emphasis on the romance than the comedy, and a feel distinctly different than, say, Capra or Lubitsch.
[Bias Disclaimer: I think Wendy Hiller was born to play Dorothy L. Sayers' Harriet Vane, and I really haven't seen anyone else who's come close.]
Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
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