Next Time We Love: Jimmy Stewart being sad in a suit

Is this worth your time?

If you like old-school black and white romances where people stare longingly at doors, sure. If you hate movies where the conflict could be solved by a five-minute conversation, maybe skip it. It’s definitely for fans of Jimmy Stewart’s early work, even if he feels like he’s still figuring out how to be that Jimmy Stewart.

There’s this weird tension in Next Time We Love that isn’t really about the plot. It’s about watching two people who are clearly supposed to like each other struggle through a script that wants them to be miserable. Margaret Sullavan is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. She has this way of looking at a room that makes you feel like she’s already bored with the furniture.

The whole foreign correspondent thing feels like a backdrop they just threw in to keep the couple apart. Honestly, the movie gets way more interesting when they’re just arguing about their living room decor or the way they talk to each other. It’s not a masterpiece, but it has these moments where the dialogue actually snaps.

The Hattie McDaniel factor

Hattie McDaniel shows up and, like always, she steals every single frame she is in. It’s almost unfair to the other actors. She says two words and suddenly the scene has a pulse. Why didn’t they give her more to do?

The pacing is a bit of a mess. Sometimes a scene ends, and I’m like, wait, we’re doing that now? It jumps from an airport goodbye to a Broadway stage in a way that feels like someone snipped the film reel with kitchen scissors.

There’s a part where they are just standing there, and the silence goes on for about three seconds too long. It’s not dramatic. It’s just awkward. It reminded me a bit of the pacing issues in The Riverside Murder, where things just sort of stop moving for no reason.

• Jimmy Stewart’s suit looks like it’s two sizes too big, and it’s distracting.
• The lighting in the final act is inexplicably gloomy.
• There is a prop lamp that appears in three different rooms. I kept watching it.

I don't know, maybe I’m being too harsh. It’s not trying to be The Case of Lena Smith or some high-art experiment. It’s just a movie about a couple that can't figure out how to be a couple. We’ve all been there. Maybe not the part about being a famous stage star, but the messy communication part? Definitely.

The ending isn't some big revelation. It just kind of… happens. You walk away feeling like you watched a play through a slightly foggy window. It’s fine, but I probably wouldn't watch it twice.