The Life of Emile Zola

Starring: Paul Muni, Gale Sondergaard, Joseph Schildkraut, Gloria Holden
Directed by: William Dieterle
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Drama
1937

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Emile Zola (Paul Muni) goes from a poor, struggling writer to one of the most famous French writers of all time. After he achieves fame and wealth, he decides to put his lifestyle- and his life- on the line to protest against the false imprisonment of Captain Dreyfuss (Joseph Schildkraut), who has been found guilty of treason.

Review:

Tim: The Life of Emile Zola is a great example of Hollywood's power to tell entertaining biographies of some of history's most important people. Emile Zola gets the treatment here, and this is a very solid, entertaining film. What is even more surprising is how well this film has held up- it is remarkably relevant even today. While this is not a perfect or flawless movie, it is still a strong one.

The cast is diverse, but it really comes down to Paul Muni. Muni simply transforms himself into Emile Zola, giving a truly impressive performance. I loved Muni in this film, and I found myself having a hard time taking my eyes off him- he was almost mesmerizing in his accurate portrayal of Zola. He puts a great deal of energy into the role, and that translates on screen. I was so impressed with the makeup and the mannerisms, which made you believe you were actually watching Zola. Muni deserved his Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

The rest of the cast are decent, but are all almost completely covered by Muni's long shadow. I was actually shocked to learn that Joseph Schildkraut won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his turn as Captain Dreyfuss. I've never taken the time to do research on how this happened, but I am just amazed that his small, seemingly insignificant performance was rewarded with an Oscar. I didn't think Schildkraut did much to impress, and his screen time is so small that he was almost an after-thought for much of the film. I am not saying he was bad- he's perfectly fine- but he just doesn't make that big of an impact on the film. I would have liked this movie more had Muni had some real supporting help from the rest of the cast. As is, this is really Muni's show.

This film is really a fascinating and memorable look at an incredible human being. Zola is just an interesting character, and I really enjoyed learning about his life and his long-lasting influences. It was interesting that so much of this film focused on the Dreyfuss case. This did give the film some incredibl scenes- the courtroom scenes are surprisingly emotional and dramatic. I loved these moments (although I thought the courtroom conclusion was a bit weak). The film is really broken into two parts- before the Dreyfuss case, and the case itself. I'm not sure if this was the best possible choice, but it works here.

The Life of Emile Zola is a very good movie. It does gloss over a few important historical details here and there, but these are minor flaws. The film could have been a bit more emotional, but the story is good and I found this to be an entertaining movie. The move did win 3 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Writing, Screenplay. This might not be the first classic that comes to mind, but it does so much right that it deserves its standing among the best.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Story of Louis Pasteur, The Great Ziegfeld