“Nobody’s perfect”

The final oration of the slapstick comedy Some like it Hot is perhaps the best transition and setup to Otto Preminger’s Laura. These words take on a new meaning as the genera transitions from Comedy to film Noir nevertheless they are applicable. This genera of film—perhaps more than any other—forces the spectator to maintain active viewing, continual character analysis. One is questioning the disposition and intent of every character introduced in the storyline. What seems to be most striking about Laura are the character development, soundtrack, and editing demonstrated in the film.
For me, Laura is a testament to the significance of skillfully creating and displaying the complex identities and motives of a story’s characters. Each of the main characters: Lieutenant McPherson, Waldo Lydecker, Shelby Carpenter, and Laura Hunt possess an odd and suspicious air about them; none of them can be trusted. Yet, the character of Laura Hunt proves to be the most dynamic and thus intriguing of them all. It is the dubious nature of her personality that affects the viewer’s conception of all other characters prolonging the mystery and obscuring the murderer.
The viewer never knows what to think of Lydecker, Carpenter, and McPherson because the viewer can’t figure Laura out. This sense of bewilderment is evoked as everyone believes Laura is a kindhearted and harmless young lady, however, her acts and manners suggest something more devious. The entire movie forces the viewer to figure out what type of woman she really is. With the single image of her self portrait the first shot in this film sets up the type of woman Laura is, rather what type of woman everyone perceives her to be. This image starkly contrasts the reality we begin to see, and imperfect ‘doll’.
Although Laura is eulogized and mourned by all when she returns home one feels a conflicting sentiment towards her as the ‘perfect lady’ embodied by the painting in her home. When she returns this image is juxtaposed to the lie of her death. Furthermore, she displays her amorality as it becomes clear that she manipulates, uses, and lies to the other characters. Laura switched back and for the between the image of damsel in distress and the ‘dolls’ McPherson refers to women as being. Moreover, Laura dated Waldo Lydecker for his fame, status, and wealth yet she dates Carpenter after she obtains her own success and wealth because of Lydecker. Laura’s morals are further questioned as she lies to agent McPherson about the radio in her cabin and continues to change her mind switching back and forth between assertions that she would or would not marry Mr. Carpenter. Additionally, Laura confesses that she knew about Carpenter’s affair, this further implicates Laura’s motivation for killing the model Carpenter was sleeping with. Since we cannot place Laura and neither a sinner nor a saint it is hard for us to tell if the other characters have been duped by her as well or if they know of her darker nature.
Another aspect that helps to make this film an exceptional work is the use of background music throughout the movie. There were numerous parts in the film in which the music was telling the story alone without dialogue from the actors. In particular, music was most effective in creating a reality for the viewer, a reality in which we are manipulated to perceive what the characters are thinking. During the shot before Laura walks through the door of her home we witness McPherson searching her apartment tormented as he searches for clues to the murder of Laura’s death. What seems like a highly tense and eerie scene in a result of the horrific sounds and what seems like the presence of a ghost. The shot ends with McPherson drinking below the portrait of the beautiful Laura. The music is such that the viewer almost expects the image to come to life in the form of a ghost but instead Laura walks through the door alive and well. Music plays a pivotal role in making this scene work. The music created a sense of McPherson’s tension with this murder mystery and the next shot juxtaposes that tension with the implausible reality that Laura is living. The important thing to remember is that without music there is nothing but a silent scene in which McPherson seems to aimlessly walk about the apartment. Here we identify the magic of films, creating a believable fake environment.