My Review of M.

"When the Police in Germany are unable to catch a child-murderer, other criminals join the manhunt."



M was hit and miss for me, but overall I didn't really enjoy M. Maybe it was just because of the hot room, but I found myself falling asleep through most of it.

I think, as mentioned earlier, the use of camera angles and interlocking conversations was done really well, and honestly not something I was expecting from a movie made in the 1930's. I thought the writing and directing here was really great.

Also, as was said earlier, the acting was much better for me. It seemed less over the top and much more grounded and honest.

That's about where my enjoyment ended. Everything else felt sub par to me. I was disappointed at how soon the murderer's identity was given, it took away some the excitement and mystery from the story. Also, one of the reasons I enjoyed Metropolis was because of how good the settings and special effects were. M lacked those for me. I think the only good set in the movie was the office building where the murderer hid from everyone, and even that was nothing special. Lastly, I found the lack of soundtrack incredibly boring. I appreciate the whistling and tone changes the sound gave, but without any music I didn't feel the mood changes the director was going for. All in all the emotions and mood of the story seemed to stay at one level, and I think music would've helped a great deal to add suspense and keep in involved.

So all in all, there were good points and bad points in this movie. I hope that future movies can hold my attention a little better.

-Michael Howell