A Woman Like You: Why razor blades don't buy happiness

Is it worth your time?

If you have a soft spot for dusty, black-and-white comedies where everyone is a bit of a caricature, you’ll probably get a kick out of this. It’s got that specific, slightly stuffy energy that only movies from this era seem to possess.

If you need fast pacing or characters that feel like actual human beings, you’re going to hate it. This isn't exactly The World Changes when it comes to emotional depth.

The whole thing revolves around this guy who made a killing in the razor blade business. He’s a total parvenu, clearly. You can see it in the way he walks, like he’s trying to occupy more space than he’s earned.

He wants to marry this beautiful woman, and the movie spends a lot of time watching him fumble through high-society manners. It’s funny in a way that feels a bit cruel, honestly.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of A Woman Like You (1933) through its definitive frames.

The vibe

There is this one scene with the dinner service where I’m pretty sure the lead actor forgot his line for a split second. He just kind of stares at a fork with this blank, terrified look. It’s the most real moment in the whole film.

The cast is packed with faces you recognize if you’ve spent way too many hours digging through archives. Max Schreck is in there, looking like he’d rather be literally anywhere else, which is hilarious given his history. He adds this weird, heavy energy to every room he walks into.

Small observations

• The lighting in the ballroom scene is oddly flat. It makes everyone look like they’re standing in front of a giant, lit-up sheet.
• The razor blade metaphors are laid on so thick you could cut yourself on them. Get it?
• I swear the same background extra appears in three different locations in the span of five minutes.
• Some of the dialogue feels like it was written to fill time rather than move the story along.

There’s a strange, lingering quality to the background music that makes me feel like I’m in a dentist's office in 1930. It doesn’t really match what’s happening on screen, which makes the whole thing feel slightly off-kilter.

It’s not a masterpiece. It’s barely a blip on the radar compared to something like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. But sometimes you don't want a masterpiece. Sometimes you just want to watch a guy with too much money try to impress people who think he’s a joke.

I think I liked it more because it wasn’t trying to be important. It just exists. That’s enough for me today. 🎞️