‘M’ review

Watching Fritz Lang’s ‘M’ during the Weimar season at the picturehouse was both nostalgic and challenging. On one hand, it reminded me of studying English and European Film studies in the 90s, with technical and lighting enframents of Brechtian theatre and anxiety. As a young man, it was thrilling to experience the fears and vertigo that these films evoked. On the other hand, having seen many films that emulate ‘M,’ it’s hard to think of it as a predecessor. Despite this, I found ‘M’ to be a haunting and memorable experience.

I was familiar with the story, having read the comic book version with a Flexi disc that featured a staccato rendition of ‘The Hall of the Mountain King.’ The book and tape were a stripped-down, black rendition of tragedy and crime, without any pacing other than the mania of psychosis and the desperate need to catch a killer. In contrast, the latest version of the film is a far more varied and social affair, showcasing a city fraught with fear for its children while retaining a certain quirk and humor.

The film has a panto quality to it, with each form of authority being a table of older men with peculiar smoking and drinking habits, espousing the events of the day with bravado and disengagement. While the fear and danger of the crimes are never far away, the events are dealt with in ways that are familiar even today. Paranoia and petty theories are jumped on by the public, while witnesses shout at each other, rendering any lead inconsequential. The police, incapable of finding the killer, resort to abstract formulas out of an episode of CSI, while insisting on rounding up the usual suspects.

The film provides a city hall sense of law and organized crime being two sides of the same coin, with the chief of homicide and the lead mob boss each having their own foibles for comedy. The sense of a mutual understanding seeps all the way through society. Despite the paranoia we experience to this day, the film is still entertaining with cops and robbers playing out like Keystone Kops, pratfalling and regaling each other with solutions based on sweetie wrappers. The criminal cartels are the Lavender Hill Mob, capers and japes, and motley drunk opportunists who rely on blind beggars to find their man.

Despite the lighthearted moments, the film’s abrupt ending has a significant impact, with a city chase and sinister balloons that make everything float. ‘M’ stands for mirth, macabre, and murder, compelling viewers on a larger screen. It’s a crime not to experience this film’s city and society on the big screen.