Analysis

Analysis

Symbols and Tropes

Hero's Journey

Ever notice that every blockbuster movie has the same fundamental pieces? A hero, a journey, some conflicts to muck it all up, a reward, and the hero returning home and everybody applauding his or...

Setting

Green Manors…and Everywhere ElseYou're either in the madhouse, or you're not in the madhouse. The first part of Spellbound is set in Green Manors. It's a restricted place, and Ballantyne/Edwardes...

Point of View

Hollywood Will Contain Your MadnessWhen your main character is an amnesiac with massive psychological trauma, you'd think you'd throw something warped in your narrative technique. Maybe put some wa...

Genre

Mystery/Psychological ThrillerAt the beginning of the movie, the brain of Dr. Edwardes is a mystery. What's in that brain anyway? Not only don't you know, but "Dr. Edwardes" doesn't know either. On...

What's Up With the Title?

We hate to admit it, but there is nothing up with this title. "Spellbound" really doesn't have anything to do with the film. Okay, it suggests that someone is deluded or distracted, and the main c...

What's Up With the Ending?

How do you end a Hollywood movie? With a smooch, of course. And that's what you've got with Spellbound. Constance and Ballantyne say goodbye to Brulov and then head for a train to go on their honey...

Shock Rating

PGFreud was a shocking guy. He wrote about incest, child abuse, and how everyone thought about sex-sex-sex all the time (except when they took a break to think about murdering their fathers. Then t...