My single biggest complaint about Abel Gance's La Roue is that it simply doesn't have enough plot to justify its 4 1/2 hour run-time. I recently gave Napoléon, another silent epic by Gance, a perfect 10/10 score. The reason was that despite its four hour run-time, the leading character's life was so rich and eventful that there was enough story to fill out its incredible length. La Roue is a melodrama that would feel right at home along with the works of D. W. Griffith, in particular Orphans of the Storm and Way Out East. It focuses on a love triangle between an elderly railroad engineer named Sisif, his handsome son Elie, and his daughter Norma. Before you cry accusations of incest, keep in mind that Sisif rescued Norma as an infant from a massive train crash and raised her as his own. But perhaps the uneasy feelings towards incestuous relationships are warranted, particularly because there is clear sexual tension and attraction between Elie and Norma, both of whom have no clue that she was adopted. As can be expected in a melodrama, one of Sisif's friends named Hersan discovers the truth about Norma's situation. He forces Sisif to give Norma to him in marriage or else he will reveal the truth about her past to her. There is much crying and weeping, but Norma is given to Hersan in an unhappy marriage. Fast forward and Elie dies in a fight with Hersan, Sisif blames Norma, banishes her from his home, loses his eyesight, and accepts her back into his life after he discovers that she had been living in an adjacent shack to his house for a long time. As I mentioned, there really isn't enough plot to justify such a long movie. Griffith could have told the same story in two hours (if he had wanted to, of course). There are some minor technical innovations in terms of creative editing and camera work, but nothing along the lines of Napoléon. La Roue is by no means a bad film. It just overstays its welcome.
7/10
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