Tartuffe: F. W. Murnau

The most entertaining part of F. W. Murnau's Tartuffe is Emil Jannings' face as the eponymous hypocrite-slash-con-man Tartüff. The film is a fine adaptation of Molière's classic play, but the nature of the story prevents Murnau, one of early cinema's supreme visual stylists, from giving the film the same visual panache found in his best works. That's not to say that the film is inadequately framed or shot. But for a director so well-versed in German Expressionism and the stylistic gymnastics of The Last Laugh (1924), his work in Tartuffe feels underwhelming. But, as I said, Jannings' face is a constant source of delight. Perpetually pulled back in a half-sneer, half-grimace, Jannings somehow manages to portray a wide range of emotions while barely moving his face. Rarely have I seen a face that seemed so desperately in need of punching.

7/10