Rent Heart of the Matter (1953)

Catholic Noir. - Heart of the Matter review by Steve

Intense, sombre adaptation of Graham Greene's catholic tragedy, shot on location in Sierra Leone. The soundtrack uses local music, played on improvised instruments. With the glistening noir photography and the tropical rain, the film is full of atmosphere. And there's a classic Greene premise, loaded with irony and moral twists.

Trevor Howard is a burned out colonial policemen, tormented by his alien environment and his faith. And the memory of his daughter who died of a tropical disease. He gets into the debt of a corrupt wheeler dealer to give his unfaithful wife (Elizabeth Allan) some respite in South Africa. And so is forced to help run diamonds across the border.

While his wife is away, the middle aged officer falls in love with a young refugee from the war (Maria Schell). He is trapped between his passion and his certainty that it will damn him. The great joy of the film is to hear Greene's precise dialogue spoken by the impassive British cast, supported by Denholm Elliott, Michael Hordern and Peter Finch.

Howard gives one of his greatest performances as a desperate man condemned by his conscience. All the Brits are hollowed out by their occupation, uncertain of their purpose and local customs, and usually fighting off malaria. It's a film saturated in despair, but elevated by its flawed hero; a wise conveyance of human pity who cannot save himself.