Sherlock, Jr

Sherlock Jr is my first foray into silent film. With that said, I'm not sure how to go about this review. Are there any methods or techniques that I should be looking at? I know nothing about the silent film industry so I will be sharing my thoughts about this film at its face value. Sherlock Jr focuses on a movie theater employee who takes an interest in detective work.  His interest gets put into test when a gold watch turns missing.

This isn't some mystery or a thinking piece, as the circumstances are laid out for the audience to understand the film. It's straightforward, and makes things interesting in the latter half. Buster Keaton is known as a silent film star, and it helps that he also directed this film as he would know what he wanted out from the picture. Being physically able to convey situation and emotion is important because it is the only way the film is going to be understood without conversation/sound. It helps that the music serves as cue for what kind of situation the actors are in, so it helps identify what the audience should feel or think. Keaton was really delightful, banking on physical comedy without breaking out of his stoic mask. For a comedy, he just had one expression.

At a short runtime, the film is very concise without leaving unanswered questions. It was also delightful as the second half projects a reality that the movie theater employee envisions his detective talent will do.

This is my January Blind Spot Series Pick. Click the banner for the rest of my entries.