Fear and Desire

Stanley Kubrick’s directorial debut, Fear and Desire follows four soldiers (Frank Silvera’s Mac, Kenneth Harp’s Corby, Paul Mazursky’s Sidney, and Stephen Coit’s Fletcher) as they’re stranded behind enemy lines and eventually forced to fend for themselves. It’s an exceedingly thin premise that’s employed to sometimes striking yet often underwhelming effect by Kubrick, with the picture suffering from a decidedly amateurish feel that’s compounded by less-than-accomplished performances and an ongoing emphasis on overwrought, unconvincing dialogue and narrative. (One of the soldiers remarks, for example, that “sometimes, as I look at these maps, I wonder if my own grave isn’t being planned.”) There’s little doubt, though, that Kubrick’s solid eye for compelling visuals is firmly in place even at this nascent stage in his career, and it’s worth noting, too, that the movie boasts a very small handful of genuinely compelling sequences (eg Mazursky’s unhinged character is left alone with a woman from a nearby village). It’s ultimately clear, however, that Fear and Desire simply isn’t able to justify its feature-length running time (ie the whole thing feels padded-out even at 61 minutes), with the movie’s less-than-consistent vibe paving the way for a second half that could hardly be less interesting or anti-climactic – which does, in the end, confirm the film’s place as a fairly ineffective first effort that does, at least, highlight the eye-catching visual sensibilities of its preternaturally-talented director.

** out of ****