Casablanca Review: Here's Looking at You, Kid
9.5/10 — Casablanca (1942)
Pros
- Bogart and Bergman's chemistry
- Endlessly quotable script
- Superb supporting cast
Cons
- Dated in places
In Vichy-controlled Casablanca during the Second World War, cynical nightclub owner Rick Blaine, played by Humphrey Bogart, must choose between love and duty when his former lover, Ilsa, arrives with her Resistance leader husband. It won Best Picture.
What works
Bogart and Ingrid Bergman have electric chemistry, and the supporting cast, including Claude Rains’s wry Captain Renault and Peter Lorre, is a joy. The script is full of lines that have become part of the language, and the singing of La Marseillaise is a goosebump moment.
Where it falters
The film is studio-bound and of its time, and some of its attitudes towards secondary characters are dated.
Verdict
Romantic, witty and thrilling. A genuine Hollywood legend that deserves the hype.
