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5.4/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.4/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Westward Passage remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly, only if you have a thing for 1930s high-society fashion and people speaking in those clipped, super-dramatic tones that don't exist anymore. If you want a punchy, modern look at relationships, stay far away. But if you like watching people look pained while wearing very expensive silk on a transatlantic crossing, you’ll probably find something to enjoy.
Ann Harding is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. She has this look in her eyes like she’s constantly remembering a joke that wasn't actually funny. It’s a very specific kind of acting from that era, all posture and sighs.
The whole thing feels a bit like watching a Young America melodrama, but with more champagne and less grit. There’s a scene where they’re walking the deck, and I swear the background is just a painting they forgot to light properly. You can see the seams of the set if you blink too fast. It’s charming in a cheap way, I guess.
Laurence Olivier is in this, looking younger than I think I’ve ever seen him. He has this way of leaning into doorways that makes me think he was just trying to find a comfortable place to stand while he delivered his lines. He’s fine, but he doesn't seem entirely sure why he's on the boat either.
The pacing is… weird. It skips through years like it’s checking off items on a grocery list. We get the divorce, the career struggle, the Europe trip, all in the blink of an eye. It lacks that slow burn you’d expect from a story about a broken marriage. It feels like someone edited it with a lawnmower.
There’s a bit with Zasu Pitts that is just pure filler. She’s delightful, but she’s clearly there to give the audience a break from all the moping. She brings a bit of light to a movie that’s mostly just people staring at the ocean and regretting their life choices.
Is it a masterpiece? No. Is it a disaster? Also no. It’s just one of those movies that exists in the background of history. It reminds me a bit of the vibe in The Harvester, where everything is just a little too clean to be true. Sometimes you just want to see people in evening wear having a disagreement, and this delivers exactly that.
The dialogue is often just people stating the obvious. "You’ve changed," someone says. Well, yeah, it’s been five years and you’re on a boat in the middle of the Atlantic. Of course they changed.
I left the screen feeling like I’d just had a long, slightly bland lunch. It was fine. I’m not gonna think about it tomorrow, but I didn't hate the time I spent with it. Sometimes that’s enough. 🚢
IMDb —
1924
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