Ministry of Fear

Directed by Fritz Lang, Ministry of Fear follows Ray Milland’s Stephen Neale as he’s released from an asylum at the height of the Second World War and subsequently finds himself drawn into a complicated scheme involving a dead Nazi spy. Filmmaker Lang, working from Seton I. Miller’s screenplay, delivers a progressively tiresome endeavor that fares best in its promising and compelling opening stretch, as the movie, which benefits substantially from Henry Sharp’s perpetually striking and memorable cinematography, boasts an intriguing mystery that proves instrumental at initially capturing the viewer’s interest – with the promising vibe heightened (and then some) by Milland’s predictably compelling turn as the increasingly frantic protagonist. It’s disappointing to discover, then, that Ministry of Fear grows less and less interesting (and more and more convoluted) as it slowly unfolds, and there’s little doubt, as well, that the second act’s heavy emphasis on Stephen’s hopelessly tedious investigation into his perilous situation only exacerbates the decidedly interminable atmosphere – which, when coupled with a thoroughly anticlimactic final stretch, cements the picture’s place as a palpable misfire that feels like it could (and should) be so much better.

** out of ****

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