DAVID LEAN

Hobson’s Choice

Part of the challenge of watching these at the rate I’m currently managing, is that I’ve lost some of my superhero power of attention. One of the things I’ve noted in the past here is that modern media has destroyed the attention span of most people, but that I’ve found it can be reversed by enough consumption of older, slower, media.

The reversible nature is encouraging, but, also, it goes both directions. So initially I found myself wandering away from this film, not fully committing to its meandering classic pacing. But, as with all the best media from any age, it was ultimately undeniable. Slowly but surely it snared my full attention, to the point that I was eventually hanging on every moment, so happy with what I had finally consented to experience.

This is a classic British comedy of station, manners, expectations, class divisions, and society. Turns out I love that sort of thing, especially when it’s done with this much empathy and heart. Sure Charles Laughton’s Hobson is the worst. But he’s the worst in a charming way. Which doesn’t forgive him his sins, but this also doesn’t drown us in them.

His daughter, Maggie, is a force of nature, but ultimately she learned that from him. The battle of wills that he loses was always going to be lost, because she’s an evolved version of him. Minus the alcoholism to boot, and with a great deal more work ethic on top. She knows what she wants and she is going to get it, it’s only a matter of when.

Anyway, I enjoyed this so, so much. It’s discoveries like this one that propel me to continue this long quest. Turns out we’ve known how to make movies for a long time now, all over the world, and there’s incredible things to be found. There’s a ton of terrible stuff to find too, of course, but that’s where curation comes in, and Criterion maintains a pretty high batting average over all. - Nov 14th, 2025