Magnificent Obsession

Sirk confronted the excessive nature of his material head on and produced both a classic weepie and a deeply ironic vision of middle-class love. As in most Sirk films the mise-en-scene speaks volumes, undercutting the love-is-blind drift of the plot. A story of magical transformation: Rock Hudson changes from wanton playboy to distinguished brain surgeon and Jane Wyman moves from hate to love in this extraordinary examination of the perversity of sexual desire. (National Film Theatre, Londen)