Movie Analysis: SINGIN' IN THE RAIN

Copyright © 2005 by Mary Lynn Mercer

Themes: vanity, insecurity, dignity, transparency
MPAA Rating: NA
Year: 1952

Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont are the hottest couple to grace the silent screen. Behind the glossed over press releases, Don is riddled with insecurities and shrill-voiced Lina resents the studio's gag order on her public appearances.

When fans mob Don on the way to an after-premiere party, he escapes into the passing car of Kathy Selden. An aspiring actress, she ridicules his work and questions his talent. Pride wounded, he stalks away only to come face to face with her again at the party when she pops out of a cake. Intrigued, he tries to strike up a relationship, but Kathy mistakes his interest as harassment and runs away.

Don's self-doubts continue to trouble him, even when the studio enthusiastically begins production on another sure-hit, The Dueling Cavalier. He can't get Kathy, or what she said, out of his mind, and spends every free moment searching for her.

Then the phenomenon of talking movies hits the industry like a lightning bolt. Don, Lina, and the leading lady of his heart will never be the same again.

Singin' in the Rain deserves its unfailing appearance high on favorite-movie lists. It works on all levels--as a musical, as a romance, and ultimately as a story.

Music carries emotion in movies. That's why soundtracks, even to non-musicals, are so popular. They evoke the emotional experience of the movie. In musicals, the job of musical sequences is to advance the story. This is a lot harder than it sounds, or more musicals would do it successfully. Every scene in Singin' in the Rain, including the song-and-dance numbers, impacts the protagonist's goal, develops conflict, or establishes motivation. Often, they manage to do more than one at the same time--while showing off some of the most memorable choreography in motion picture history. For example, the title number where Don sings in the rain while walking home establishes motivation and foreshadows conflict: now he's in love (this new motivation impacts his future actions) and doesn't care how undignified it makes him appear to onlookers (conflict).

The romance in the film is simple and straightforward, but tender and touching nonetheless. As any great romance should, it begins and ends with character. Don and Kathy's relationship grows out of his defensiveness and insecurities about his acting abilities. The relationship reaches its happy resolution only after he faces those doubts by risking his greatest success.

Ian Fleming is well known for creating larger-than-life adversaries for his famous super-spy, James Bond. But strong antagonists belong in more than espionage thrillers. They are vital to the success of any good story. In Singin' in the Rain, it's really Lina who holds the whole story together. Aside from Donald O'Connor's "Make 'Em Laugh" number, hers are some of the funniest scenes in the movie. She provides the conflict at key points in the story that keeps it going. It's to avoid her that Don hitches a ride and ultimately first meets Kathy. It's because of her that Kathy gets fired and Don spends weeks searching for her. It's largely because of her that the The Dueling Cavalier is a humiliating failure. It's because of her that Kathy's talents are kept under wraps.

On a subtler level, Lina shadows the themes portrayed through the protagonist. Lina's primary character traits are vanity and shrewdness. Her worst fear is looking like a fool. So she schemes. She is unaware that the more she allows her vanity to drive her actions, the more foolish she looks. What makes the ending so satisfying is that the villainess' greatest fear comes to pass: her character flaw reaches its height and overflows into her appearing the fool in front of a large audience. By contrast, Don begins the story deeply insecure about his professional talent. His biggest fear is that he can't act. So he clings to a veneer of fraudulent dignity. He must sacrifice his coping mechanism of "dignity" in order to overcome his self-doubts and earn a professional and romantic happy ending.

The challenge that comes with having a strong antagonist in a story is keeping the protagonist(s) active. Sometimes the antagonist is so powerful that he or she threatens to take over the story. Singin' in the Rain skillfully avoids this trap by giving the protagonist his own goal to pursue instead of only reacting to Lina's goal. It's a power issue. Whose larger goal is driving the story? Whose smaller goals are driving the scenes? If the hero's goal is merely a rewording of the villain's, then the protagonist is reacting instead of taking charge of the story. For example, in the beginning of the movie Lina wants to ride with Don to the party. Don wants to avoid her companionship, so he hitches a ride with his best friend. This is reactive so far, because all he wants is to avoid Lina's smaller goal; it's still her goal driving the action even though she's no longer present. But the power of the scene shifts away from Lina to Don when he's mobbed by fans and escapes by leaping into Kathy's car. It's his goal now--to get to the party without being abused by fans--that takes over and drives the story through to the next scene.

When a story is excellently crafted, it remains ageless no matter what time period it's set or written in. Singin' in the Rain is as enjoyable today as it was over fifty years ago.