Shining Through Reviews

Shining Through is one of those clichéd romantic melodramas you just want to shake your head at for its corniness and sheer stupidity. Set in World War II, Linda (Melanie Griffith) works with her boss Ed Leland (Michael Douglas) as a secretary and German translator. However, when the war takes a toll on the United States, Ed enlists her as a spy for the Nazis posing as a nanny for Officer Franz-Otto Dietrich’s (Liam Neeson) children. Seeing it again, I forgot how much chemistry the two leads have with meek and wise working girl Griffith working off smart but naïve lawman Douglas. I also admire the production design and cinematography, how they allude to those romanticized office rooms in Casablanca. Conversely, the Nazi’s were portrayed surprisingly poorly and showcased some of Shining Through’s shark jumping moments. First, they hire Linda as a nanny after firing her as a cook, despite being a complete stranger. Then, they let Ed, disguised as a disabled war veteran with a bloody bandage on his throat, into a train to Berlin without thorough medical inspection. Finally, Dietrich allows Linda into the study room and basement in which his V-1 rocket plans are stashed behind a secret door. Honestly, I should have been angry, but, instead, I was amazed that Linda survived all those years without getting caught the second the other Nazis and Margrete (Joely Richardson) recognized her.

(2 Strudels out of 5)

Since this movie did receive some rather abysmal reviews when it was released, I wasn't expecting much but since I always had a weak spot for Michael Douglas, I was still eager to check it out. To be honest, I think the whole thing definitely had some potential and the original set-up was really interesting but, unfortunately, it was really poorly developed. First of all, the whole gimmick of the interview was really weak and unnecessary. The other issue I had is that I didn’t think that Melanie Griffith was really convincing. I mean, pretty much like in 'Working Girl', even if she did look like a bimbo, she was supposed to be actually really smart but I certainly didn't buy it. Griffith was definitely charming but she can’t even really pretend to be someone smart. But, even with these flaws, I still believed that it was a strong story, it's just too bad that, as soon as she arrived in Germany, the whole plot became increasingly unbelievable and during the last 20 minutes, it barely made sense at all. Anyway, to conclude, there was probably a good movie hidden there somewhere but they picked up the wrong actress and they certainly messed up the story which was, for the most part, a big joke.