Intense
Suspense
Plot twists
Narrative shifts
Brilliance
Resilience
Versatility
Palpability
Haunting
Daunting
Iconic tableaus
Ironic shadows
Magic art
Tragic heart
Antihero
Chiaroscuro
Life is hall-of-mirrors histoire
In gorgeous film noir

Orson Welles in The Third Man, 1949. John Irving. CC BY-SA

I’ve loved old movies since childhood but haven’t seen many of Orson Welles’ beyond Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons. Got caught up in watching The Stranger, The Third Man, and The Lady from Shanghai... I guess you could say I fell under Welles’ deep, dark spell. A magical respite from the sweltering, suffocating August day.