Downhill (1927)

I began watching Downhill (1927) after a night on the town. After a while, I concluded I had probably had a drink too many to appreciate the film. When I resumed watching the film, I instantaneously got the same woozy feeling. So sometimes beer is not to blame: Downhill, a silent film directed by Hitchcock, is a hallucinatory and sad tale about what happens when one takes blame for something one hasn't done. The downward spiral is endless and one cannot blame Hitch for beating around the bush about what kind of story it is. Intertitles are few and well sense-making is not on the top of the agenda. There are a few moments where I'm wondering what the hell is going on. Eerie camera panning and unnerving people (maybe the most sinister looks on film are delivered here) are what matter here. The story itself is rubbish and doesn't really make much sense but the way the film is done is GOLD, if one digs outlandish stuff and strange angles. Lost & delirious, Downhill excels in focusing on weird details and filming all locations as they were located on an alien planet. I'm thinking of one scene in particular that takes place in a nightclub where the curtains are suddenly drawn back so that the sun shines in, and well the effect is both cheesy and, again, eerie. Downhill is nightmare material from start to finish, and brilliant at that. As far as I know, Downhill has not received any particular acclaim. And looking at the story (and the far from flattering view of women), I can of course figure out why this is so. Clunky - yes (in one scene Roddy rides the escalators down to the underground, speaking of DOWNHILL, and an intertitle informs us: "This is the quickest way to everything", subtle stuff...), and maybe its the clunkiness I somehow embrace.