The Red Shoes

Kiss Me Kate came to mind as I was watching The Red Shoes this morning. In that movie, there is a stage production of The Taming of the Shrew, which also plays out in the central drama of the film itself. We see the same thing in The Red Shoes, where the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale serves as the basis for a ballet musical but also for the plot of the whole movie, too. Imagery and events between the two are mirrored, including the traumatic finale. It is a powerful way to convey a story that makes repeat viewings all the more rewarding.

I’m not a ballet connoisseur. I have never attended the ballet nor do I know anyone who is a part of that society. Because of that, it has been difficult for me to get fully invested in films that focus so much on that discipline. Films like Black Swan and The Turning Point have come across more like Oscar homework than entertaining films to me. I expected the same from The Red Shoes and was prepared for another long film about a subject that wasn’t in my wheelhouse. The Red Shoes disarmed me almost immediately, though. I found moments that reminded me of Bob Fosse’s semi-autobiographical dark comedy/drama, All That Jazz, a movie that was all about obsessiveness in the dance scene. I also found a heroine that I immediately liked and could get behind even as the pressures to perform while also living a life of love surmounted. There were plenty of dance sequences on screen, but they never overtook the drama or stopped the story in its tracks. In fact, the biggest, and lengthiest, number—the performance of The Red Shoes— is done in a way that transports you away from the limitations of the stage and into the world that the performers are trying to recreate. I don’t know how well I would respond to seeing the show as that audience was seeing it, but I do know the emotional reaction I had seeing it from the point-of-view the movie takes.

The film follows two performers. The first is Julian Craster (Marius Goring), a composer who we are introduced to as he and some friends are attending a ballet performance of Heart of Fire, scored by his professor. Joy is quickly replaced with anger when Julian recognizes amongst the orchestra music some of his own compositions and realizes the professor stole his work. He writes an angry letter to Boris Lermontov (Anton Walbrook), the producer of the ballet, but has a change of heart and pays a visit to Boris in the hopes of getting the letter back before it is read. But Boris has read the letter already and sympathizes, saying “It is much more disheartening to have to steal than to be stolen from.” He has Julian play something of his own on the piano and, liking what he hears, offers him a position as a répétiteur and assistant to the company’s conductor. It doesn’t take long for Julian to impress him, though, with his ambition and talent. 

Meanwhile, Victoria “Vicky” Page (Moira Shearer) is an aspiring ballet dancer who has a chance meeting with Boris at a party her aunt, Lady Neston (Irene Browne), has hosted as a means to show off her niece’s talents to Boris. When he refuses to sit in on a performance, fully recognizing it as an informal audition, she seeks him out and, through their conversation, he realizes her great passion for dance and invites her to spend time with the ballet before they leave Paris. After finally seeing her perform, he hires her full-time. 

Per the company’s policy, anyone in the ballet who gets married is required to leave. This happens to Irina Boronskaya, the principal dancer. Boris’ rationalization of this policy is that love and romance distract from the ballet and he sees no value in it. In her absence, he casts Vicky in the lead for his new show, The Red Shoes, a ballet composed by Julian Craster. The show is a major hit, but it also brings Vicky and Julian together and the two begin to fall in love with each other. 

A major theme of the film is the inability to balance work and personal lives. We see it time and time again where celebrity couples fall apart because of all the travel and time needed to maintain a successful career in show business. Boris sees the world only through the lenses of the ballet; anything else is a distraction. Many actors and actresses have struggled to be dedicated to a home life while maintaining a consistent career in the movies, tv, or the stage. It’s not impossible, but it is difficult, especially if both members are in the business. Boris looks at it as a distraction and, to a degree, it is. Marriage can lead to an unexpected need to leave the company, leaving them in a lurch. After all, how can you perform should you suddenly become pregnant? His solution is to replace someone before they can leave him without his star.

The film utilizes the framework of the Hans Christian Andersen play to form the overall story arc of the film itself. Early on, the basics of the story are explained to the audience, ensuring that when we see the musical being performed we can understand it. This serves to make clear what it is we are seeing in the dancing but, to be honest, it isn’t needed. We get what is going on clearly enough, but for those who do not understand ballet or cannot interpret what the dancer is conveying in her moves it is nice to have that explanation earlier. 

Knowing where the story is going, though, does not take away from the shock when we actually see it play out in the finale. Vicky is torn between loyalty to her husband and her desire to dance. When she first expresses her desire to marry Julian, Boris fires both of them. Since then, Julian has been working as a composer elsewhere, traveling while she stays at home, doing nothing. Boris, having a change of heart, comes to her one day and offers her a chance to perform The Red Shoes again, having prevented anyone other than her from performing it. He tempts her by showing her that Julian didn’t hesitate with pursuing his career and leaving her behind, and she eventually accepts. It’s fitting that Boris looks almost corpselike in this scene, all in black like a specter of death. He also seems unaffected by the world around him. This conversation takes plan on-board a train. When the train starts moving she momentarily loses her balance, grabbing a shelf for support. He, on the other hand, just stands there, not affected by the sudden movement at all. 

It is as much Julian’s fault as it is Boris’ for what happens in the end. He tries to force her to abandon the ballet while at the same time Boris is pressuring her to dance. These two opposite forces pulling at her are more than anyone should have to endure, and it is no surprise where it leads. After all, the fairy tale told us exactly what would happen to the dancer wearing the red shoes. She was preparing for her triumphant return to the stage, dressed for her performance including the iconic red shoes, even though she doesn’t obtain them in the show until partway in. These shoes, in the Andersen story, kept dancing when the girl wearing them grew tired and eventually she dies wearing them. When that happens to Vicky it is unclear if she jumped to her death or was symbolically pushed; the way it is shot it could be either way. The result is the same either way.

The Red Shoes is not just a film for people who appreciate the ballet. It is a compelling drama about the priorities of life. Boris, who values nothing but the work, looks pale and near death as all the joy in life is missing from him. Vicky starts out the film so full of life and happiness and loses that by the end; the influence of Boris and Julian on her is palpable. This is a cautionary tale about being so driven by your passion and your art that you miss out on having a life. There is nothing inherently wrong with being career-oriented, but it’s still important to have more to your life than just your work. Life is about balance, and without that, all the success in the world is meaningless. Vicky ends the film seemingly pushed by the ones she loves who should be supporting her. Do they love her back? That’s hard to say. Julian acts like it at first, but his final scene before her fall feels more like a man trying to regain control of a possession. Boris doesn’t love anything but the art. He is possessive of all of his performers. Both seem toxic to Vicky, and ultimately, it kills her.

Academy Award Nominations:

Best Picture: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger

Best Original Screenplay: Emeric Pressburger

Best Original Score: Brian Easdale (won)

Best Art Direction: Hein Heckroth and Arthur Lawson (won)

Best Film Editing: Reginald Mills

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Release Date: September 6, 1948

Running Time: 134 Minutes

Not Rated

Starring: Anton Walbrook, Marius Goring, Moira Shearer, Léonide Massine, Robert Helpmann, Albert Bassermann, Esmond Knight, and Ludmilla Tchérina

Directed By: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger