Bolero: A lot of sweat and not enough heart

If you have a thing for old-school dance dramas or just want to see George Raft look intensely serious while moving his feet, Bolero might scratch that itch. If you are looking for a story with real emotional stakes or characters you actually want to root for, you might want to skip this one. It is basically a vanity project that forgets to make its lead likable.

Raoul is just a difficult guy. He cares about dancing, himself, and maybe Helen, but mostly just dancing. Watching him stomp around, you get the sense that the movie *really* wants you to think he is a tortured genius. Instead, he just feels like a guy who really needs to take a nap and stop yelling at people.

There is a scene in a nightclub that goes on for way too long. The music is loud, the spinning is constant, and you start to wonder if anyone in this room actually enjoys dancing or if they are all just being held hostage by the choreography. It feels like the director was trying to capture pure passion but just ended up with a lot of heavy breathing.

I could not help but compare the vibe here to the grittier stuff you see in movies like Winner Take All. There is a similar hunger for success, but where that movie feels lived-in and tired, Bolero feels like a shiny costume that is starting to fray at the edges. 💃

Carole Lombard is in this, and honestly, she deserves better than what the script gives her. She is trying to do something with the material, but she is constantly shoved aside so Raft can do another pose. It is a shame. You can see the movie trying to convince you that this big finale matters, but by then, I was mostly just looking at my watch.

Some quick notes from the sidelines:

• George Raft looks like he is constantly smelling something weird.
• The lighting in the dance sequences is somehow both too bright and weirdly fuzzy.
• I still do not understand why Helen puts up with him.
• The transition between the club scenes and the "emotional" beats is super clunky.

It is not a total disaster, but it is definitely one of those movies that thinks it is much deeper than it actually is. It has got that golden age glow, but there is not much warmth underneath it. 🎞️