She Got What She Wanted: A Melodrama That Keeps on Giving 😬

Okay, so "She Got What She Wanted" is definitely one for the curious. If you're into those wild, twisty dramas from way back when, this one gives you a lot to chew on.

But if you need your films to make perfect sense or move at a snappy pace, you might find yourself scratching your head. It’s a whole lot of mood and not always logic. 🤷‍♀️

The film throws us right into Mahyna's world. She's a Russian peasant girl, apparently, and just not feeling it with her husband, Boris.

She comes to New York looking for something called "the soul of love." You know, that big, dramatic kind of love you read about.

What she gets instead is a super cheap flat and a lot of laundry. Boris, bless his heart, is busy dreaming about his big book.

He's totally oblivious, scribbling away while Mahyna is clearly bored out of her mind.

Then Dave shows up. He’s their boarder, and a partner in some gambling place.

He quickly makes a move on Mahyna. And she's tempted. You can almost feel the movie trying to convince you this moment matters.

Just as she's about to ditch Boris for Dave, Eddie, an old flame, pops up! Now Mahyna has two guys fighting over her.

The arguments between Dave and Eddie are pretty constant, and sometimes, frankly, a bit much. Like, really shouting, sometimes.

Fast forward a year. Mahyna is now married to Dave. And, get this, Boris is living with them. It’s all very cozy.

This part felt a little bizarre, even for a melodrama.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of She Got What She Wanted (1930) through its definitive frames.

Suddenly, Boris's book is a hit! He's rich. And he’s having an affair with Olga, "the Happiness Girl" on the radio.

So, Mahyna traded a struggling writer for a gambler, only for the struggling writer to become a success. Irony, right? 🤦‍♀️

Then Eddie comes back. Again. He just can't seem to stay away. And Dave gets mixed up in a murder case. It’s a lot to keep track of, frankly.

The way Mahyna gets dumped by both Dave and Eddie, it’s almost funny how quickly things turn. One minute, she's got options. The next, she’s got none.

And guess who's still there? Boris. He was her true love all along, apparently. The movie works hard to bring it all back to him.

What really sticks with you are the small glances. The way Dorothy Christy (Mahyna) will look off into the distance, like she's picturing a whole other life. Or how Alan Hale (Boris) just beams when he talks about his book, totally missing what's going on around him.

The pacing is very much of its time. Scenes will hold for a beat too long, or cut quickly in a way that feels a little jarring now. You can see them trying things out with the camera.

The whole "soul of love" thing feels like such a grand idea at the start. By the end, it’s just about who she ends up with. A bit deflating, perhaps.

Fred Kelsey, who plays Dave, has this way of looking at Mahyna. It’s not subtle. It’s a very direct, "I want this" kind of stare. It’s very 1920s leading man.

And the Happiness Girl on the radio, Olga? She’s just a name, really. We don't see much of her, but her existence definitely stirs things up. She's more of a plot device than a character.

There's a scene where Mahyna is just staring at the dirty dishes. That look. It says everything about her initial disappointment better than any dialogue could. You just feel her wanting something more.

The movie definitely has its moments. It’s never boring, just… a lot. You keep watching just to see what ridiculous thing happens next. And boy, do things happen.

It’s a bit of a historical curiosity. A snapshot of how they told these big, messy stories back then. Not perfect, not always smooth, but certainly memorable. For better or worse. ✨