I went in to Written on the Wind (1956) with an open mind because I had genuinely never experienced a true melodrama and was keen to expand my film knowledge and experience. Then i came out thinking ‘Why oh Why did I hate melodrama so much?’ I’ve been pondering this for a couple of days now and I think the answer lies in the type of films I love. Realism, subtlety and emotional depth is usually what attracts me to a film. Unfortunately I found none of these in Sirk’s tale of lust. For me I need to relate to a film, to apply it to my own life, to see something that strikes a chord, that rings true. So I think that’s why i struggled to engage with Marylee or Kyle because they are so far over the top that I couldn’t dream of them actually being a real person.

Ok, so some people enjoy it and laugh at it for kitsch value, purely for silly entertainment and don’t take it seriously. Granted this would certainly apply to some and there were moments I did giggle at, but if i want just entertainment, something superficial I go to television. Cinema for me needs to speek a deeper truth, and not to say that Sirk’s film is superficial, underneath his overt style there is definitely some subversive and satirical ideas being explored, however the artifice distracts from the message for me, and I seem only capable of going along with a films with heavier tone.