So I’ve been mulling over Touch of Evil for the past few days and I’m still not exactly sure what to think of it. Initially, I wanted to say that I liked Double Indemnity much better, then I thought maybe it was not fair to compare the two since they seem so different—even though they are both film noirs—and now, I'm just not sure at all. If you really put me to it, I guess that I would have to admit that I liked Double Indemnity better. That aside, however, I still think Touch of Evil was a decent film. What I first noticed about Touch of Evil was Welles’ use of interesting camera angles. The low angle shots of Hank Quinlan (Orson Welles) perfectly captured the larger than life presence of Quinlan’s character. I was also very impressed with the rich contract of black and white colors in Touch of Evil. I know this is a signature feature of film noir, but I think the colors in Touch of Evil were among the richer examples I’ve seen in this genre. Touch of Evil had a pretty good story, although I have to admit that I found it quite muddled. In some cases—especially mysteries or perhaps I should say detective movies, such as this one—a muddled plot can add to the suspense and keep the audience guessing. However, in the case of Touch of Evil, I feel that the muddled plot was merely confusing and detracted from the story. I also found Touch of Evil a bit too gimmicky for my liking, particularly, the socially awkward motel night manager. Since this film also featured Janet Leigh, his character made me feel like I was watching a frighteningly bad adaption of Psycho (yes, I do know that Touch of Evil came out two years before Psycho, but still...). His character definitely detracted from an otherwise serious plot. The film would have been much better off without him. So, while I did say that Touch of Evil is a decent film, I think the only thing that really saved it is that I have a ridiculously big place in my heart for hard boiled detective stories.
Image From: http://filmsnoir.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/touchofevil2.jpg
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