The Scoundrel is a weird, mean, and fascinating watch

Is it worth your time?

If you have a soft spot for pre-code era bite and sharp, nasty dialogue, then yes, The Scoundrel is worth a look. It’s for the people who think It’s a Wonderful Life is way too saccharine and need something that tastes more like cold coffee and regret.

If you need your protagonists to be redeemable, or even slightly likable, skip it. You’ll be rooting for the guy to stay dead before the opening credits finish rolling. 💀

Noël Coward plays Anthony Mallare, a publisher who basically views human emotion as a clerical error. The movie kicks off with him dumping women and firing people with the same casual flick of a cigarette. It’s genuinely impressive how much disdain he can pack into a single sentence.

Then the plane crashes. He ends up in this weirdly limbo-like state where he has to find someone to shed a real tear for him. It’s a classic setup, but it’s handled with this dry, cynical detachment that feels surprisingly modern.

Notes from the couch

• Coward is so good at being terrible. It’s almost hypnotic.
• The dialogue sounds like it was written by people who wanted to win every argument they’ve ever had in their lives.
• The supernatural elements feel like an afterthought, honestly. It’s really just a long, mean conversation.
• There is a moment where Mallare just looks at the camera—or maybe just past it—and you can tell he’s already bored with his own afterlife.

There’s a specific scene in a bookstore that is just brutal. The way he cuts people down to size without raising his voice is a masterclass in being a jerk. You’ll cringe, but you won’t look away.

It’s not as polished as some of the big studio stuff from the time, but that’s the charm. It feels like a stage play that decided to wander onto a film set and never quite figured out how to be a movie. Which, frankly, is fine by me.

I kept thinking about how this feels like a distant, much meaner cousin to something like The Golden Chance. Where that film finds romance in the struggle, The Scoundrel finds nothing but a punchline.

The pacing is a bit all over the place. Some scenes linger way too long, like the director forgot to yell cut. Others fly by so fast you’ll miss the best insults. It’s imperfect, definitely, but it’s got a personality that sticks to your ribs.

Honestly, just watch it for the sheer audacity of the script. People don't write characters like this anymore. They’re too afraid of making the audience uncomfortable. This movie *wants* you to be uncomfortable. It succeeds. 🍸