Magnificent Obsession: A bit too much, but somehow it works

Is it worth your time?

If you have a high tolerance for old-school soap opera theatrics, you’ll probably find Magnificent Obsession strangely charming. It’s definitely not for the cynical crowd who rolls their eyes at grand gestures, though.

Honestly, you either buy into the whole "I will secretly save your life" premise, or you spend the runtime wondering why the main character doesn't just get a normal hobby.

The Vibe

Robert Taylor plays this character who is so incredibly entitled in the first act that it’s almost impressive. He crashes a boat and then ends up indirectly causing a doctor’s death because the hospital was busy helping him instead.

It’s the kind of logic that only exists in these older melodramas, where everyone has a very specific, weird way of talking about 'duty' and 'sacrifice.' Everything is so earnest it makes my teeth hurt a little bit. 🦷

Irene Dunne is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. She makes the blindness plot feel grounded when it really, really shouldn't be.

Odd Little Moments

• The way people just sort of wander into each other’s lives without any explanation.
• The hospital sets look like they’re made of cardboard, which is actually kind of cozy.
• That one scene with the glasses where he’s trying to be subtle? It’s not subtle. At all.

It’s a bit like watching Sweet Adeline in terms of that specific period flavor, but with way more existential dread thrown in for good measure.

There’s this one sequence where the pacing just hits a wall. It lingers on a reaction shot for so long that I started counting the seconds. I think I got to twelve before anyone moved.

It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s not boring either. Sometimes you just need a movie that isn't trying to be clever, just trying to be very, very sad for two hours.

I left the room feeling like I needed a glass of water and a nap. It’s an exhausting kind of story, but there's a weird sincerity there that's hard to hate entirely.