Perfect Understanding: A Marriage Pact That Goes Exactly How You Expect

If you're looking for a breezy, slightly dated look at how people in the 1930s thought relationships worked, Perfect Understanding is worth a look. It's for the folks who like old-school charm and don't mind a bit of stiffness. If you need snappy, modern pacing or characters who actually act like real humans, you're going to hate this one.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Perfect Understanding (1933) through its definitive frames.

The whole premise is just asking for trouble. A couple decides they will never, ever argue. It’s the kind of logic only people in movies have. I spent most of the runtime just waiting for the inevitable crack in the armor.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Perfect Understanding (1933) through its definitive frames.

Laurence Olivier looks like he’s trying his best to navigate these weirdly formal lines. There’s a scene where he’s trying to handle a crush on another woman, and you can practically see him sweating through his suit. It’s not subtle. It’s honestly kind of funny how much weight the movie puts on this 'no fighting' rule, like it’s a legal contract.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Perfect Understanding (1933) through its definitive frames.

The dialogue? It’s very... stagey. Sometimes it feels like they’re reading off a pamphlet about how to be a perfect spouse. Gloria Swanson has this way of holding her head that feels like she’s in a different movie than everyone else. She’s great, but the chemistry feels like a professional acquaintance meeting at a train station.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Perfect Understanding (1933) through its definitive frames.

I found myself zoning out during the bits in the fancy villas. There's just a lot of sitting in chairs and talking about feelings in a very polite way. It makes me miss the raw energy you see in something like Hell's Valley, even if they aren't the same genre at all. Sometimes a movie just needs to stop being so proper.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Perfect Understanding (1933) through its definitive frames.

• That one shot where the camera stays on the door for way too long.
• The outfits are genuinely impressive, even if the story is thin.
• Nobody in this film knows how to actually resolve a conflict.
• The ending feels like it was tacked on in a ten-minute meeting.

There’s a strange, empty feeling to some of the background shots. It’s like the set was cleared out five minutes before they started filming. Maybe it’s just the age of the film showing, but it’s distracting. You start looking at the wallpaper instead of the actors.

It’s not a masterpiece. It’s not even really a 'good' movie by today’s standards. But if you’re a fan of old Hollywood, you’ll probably find something to smirk at here. Just don't expect it to teach you anything about marriage. 💍