Was it Mason? They show it long shot. Was the whole point of the movie that she loved him all along but couldn't consciously admit it to herself, therefore her breakdowns?
Wouldn't have the American been the healthiest choice??
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Yes, I didn't want to admit to myself that she picked Mason, but I suppose that was the whole meaning of the title "The Seventh Veil"; the unconcious mind peeled away until it's revealed that these two people are, well, IMO, emotionally sick! Yes, Mason was cruel and even sadistic, and no healthy woman would want to be with him. I certainly wouldn't!
I agree about the two women looking much older.
Ann Todd was however a lovely woman on screen and agree as to her talent and appeal.
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Mason was cruel and even sadistic, and no healthy woman would want to be with him.
And I agree that on the face of it the healthiest choice would have been the American bandleader, Peter. He seemed to be the most well-adjusted of her three suitors.Yeah, but I got the impression that Peter didn't really want her. He'd moved on - their romance was in the past, and he'd gotten on with his life. You notice, even though he was divorced, he hadn't come to seek her out. Maybe he didn't realize the depth of her feelings for him when she came searching for him and discovered he was married, but if he'd had feelings for her, he could have tried to contact her once he was free, just to see if he still had a chance. I just don't think it would have really worked with him.
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This movie was really interested to me, and I liked it. However, every time Mason hit her or ordered her around, it drove me crazy, because she just lied there and took it like a limp rag! Sorry, but I really wanted her to bitch slap him, yell at him, or at the very least, defend herself.
-T (Tobias)
Didn't seem like Dr Larson had some feelings for her.I don't know,maybe im spacing but it seemed like there was some fibes coming from him
shareI think he just assumed she could have moved on as well, which went to show that he didn't have an idea of how sheltered she was.
I like Peter but it probably wouldn't have worked because she would only be trying to recreate what they had instead of moving forward. Peter would have lost his patience. It would have been healthier if she met someone new.
My jaw hit the floor when I saw the cane and realized she picked Nicholas. I never trusted him. Even when he started to act kinder to her as she got older I thought it was a new control tactic. He legally couldn't hold her anymore so he gently tried to persuade her of a revisionist history. "I've never demanded anything of you." my ass.
She chose Nicholas in the end.
If she did chose one of the other two men, would it be the same for everyone else?
For some reason, to me, it wouldn't be as interesting as it was if she didn't go to him.
"I promise you, before I die I'll surely come to your doorstep"
Nicholas is so much more interesting than any of the other suitors. If she'd chosen one of the others, I'd still have gone away from the movie just wondering what happened to Nicholas for the rest of his life!
Flat, drab passion meanders across the screen!
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Movie girl: Nicholas is so intriguing and had become forbidding and isolates
himself from women because of his mother running off with another man. Consequently, he had become a hermit who sat in his library and read books and loved cats. I too would want to know how Nicholas fares in the end!
She should have dumped all of them and got herself a nice condo somewhere away from them all. I like James Mason, but in this film he was abusive, and if she chose him, she was indeed still sick. Those endings were typical of the 40s slant on love. Women hadnt wisened up yet. I know. I was one of them! If you watch those films closely, they almost become comedies, like the husband offering his pregnant wife a cocktail or a cigarette? Remember Laurence Olivier in "Rebecca"? He patronized/ignored her all thru it and she simpered on.
shareCalling Francesca a "coward" and "limp" shows no understanding of the tragic life she lived. When was she ever treated with love and understanding? She was dumped on this guy (Nicholas), a selfish misogynist who told her right from the get go that he didn't want anyone in his house/life, and when he wasn't being sadistic he was indifferent or contemptuous.
He had no respect for her or regard for her feelings. He controlled her with fear and threats. HE wanted her to be a concert pianist and, by god, she was going to be one regardless of what SHE wanted.
The fact that she chose him proved she wasn't "cured" at all. Not that she should have chosen either of the others. As someone said, if she was really "healthy" she would have walked out the door and told Nicholas to *beep* off.
She was brainwashed by him, lost her sense of self, like kidnap victims who fall in love with their captors, no matter how they are mistreated. I forget what it's called, but it's a recognized "syndrome".
The poor girl had, up until that point, led a tragic life. By choosing Nicholas her life would continue to be tragic until she actually DID make it off that bridge without anyone rescuing her.
she went with the RussianWhen there's no more room in hell, The dead will walk the earth...
The psychologist might have been a healthier choice than any of the other three.
sharethis movie became a hidden gem for me ...i thought it was great and i loved the ending ... i feel she liked being dominated by him ....in some strange way they belonged together...she even said at the beginning hes all i had in the whole world..besides she wanted to be a piano player...she wasnt forced to, she had a talent ..altho i didnt like when he slapped her hand with his cane ..ouch! otherwise i find james mason one sexy man in his young day! ok ill go call a therapist now ...lol..
shareFess up, would any woman walk away from James Mason in his prime? I thought not.
shareMovie girl: No, we certainly wouldn't! Had Francesca gone away with Max and
chosen to marry him, I think she would have regretted her conflicted actions in time. Also, Peter was back in the picture and seemed to love Francesca too. Through his serious and occasionally cheerful demeanor, we can see that he separated
from his wife because he still may have loved Francesca.
No, no, you couldn't pay me to run away from Nicholas! Under his austere demeanor we find that he was the epitome of a man who desired love and romance - with the right person. He loved and desired his lovely ward, Francesca. Faced with apossibly losing her, Nicholas finally expresses his true feelings in a partially veiled manner.
Once the veils of uncertainty were removed from both subjects, both Francesca and
Nicholas come together. This being accomplished, Francesca runs to embrace Nicholas! We see them from a distance, but the final scene is very moving and
unforgettable, as he turns to fully reciprocate her love!.
Actually, I think the movie signals early on that Nicholas' feelings for his ward are changing from indifference to desire and love. Remember when, after she tries to thank him for enrolling her in the music academy, he violently thrusts her away? Then he goes away for three months. What was that about? It was about Nicholas fleeing from his recognition of his growing love for his young niece and a desperate effort to get his head together and renounce his unacceptable passion.
By the way, why do so many say that Nicholas "forced" Francesca to practice the piano? Have they forgotten F.'s own words that, "Even then, music was the only thing I loved." Francesca loves music and has a great desire and need to become a pianist. Only Nicholas understands this about her, shares her desire, and makes it possible of happening. Her other two suitors could care less about her music and were clearly willing to have her sacrifice this for them. How long do you think Francesca would have been happy without her music?
In the end, she gets both her music and gorgeous Nicholas Cunningham. Win, win.
Movie girl: Wonderful Spoiler Alert! Francesa wins, wins, wins! Yes, our Nicholas fought his growing feelings for his ward and managed to keep them at bay - noticeably.
And you are right that Nicholas did not force Francesca to play the piano. Yes, he got vehement and made sure she practiced to exclusion of much else, but it was for love of his ward, Francesca. He did love her, love her talent, and was passionately devoted to her in the end. He could not lose her to Max! What if she had not said anything and gone away? That would have been terrible. I think she did care for Peter and later MAx initially, but was hiding her true feeling from herself.
Later the pathway was quite clear. My favorite scene was the descent of the stairway, as Francesca goes wholeheartedly and devotedly down the stairs to her love. Lucky girl~ Who could forget the love and devotion on her countenance as she confidently went for the right man?
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