Welcome to an exciting year-long project here at The Nerdy. 1984 was an exciting year for films giving us a lot of films that would go on to be beloved favorites and cult classics. It was also the start to a major shift in cultural and societal norms, and some of those still reverberate to this day.
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We’re going to pick and choose which movies we hit, but right now the list stands at nearly four dozen.
Yes, we’re insane, but 1984 was that great of a year for film.
The articles will come out – in most cases – on the same day the films hit theaters in 1984 so that it is their true 40th anniversary. All films are also watched again for the purposes of these reviews and are not being done from memory. In some cases, it truly will be the first time we’ve seen them.
This time around, it’s December 28, 1984, and we’re off to see Mrs. Soffel.
Mrs. Soffel
Usually, when you run into a movie based on a true story, you’ve at least heard something about it at some point in your life. This film was definitely the exception.
Ed (Mel Gibson) and Jack Biddle (Mel Gibson) are inmates on death row in 1901 when they strike up a relationship with the prison warden’s wife, Kate Soffel (Diane Keaton). Jack fairly quickly seduces Kate into being their accomplice in escaping from the prison and going on the run. The story then follows them as they try make their way to Canada with a huge bounty hanging over their heads.
While the film is interesting, it’s script is just incredibly lacking in any form of story arc for the majority of the reasons anything happens. Why did Kate fall for Jack so quickly? Yes, issues in her marriage are hinted at, but no detail is truly shared. And she was willing to leave her children behind? Why? And what was this sickness she had at the beginning? Was it real? Was it some form of malaise?
The whole movie feels like half a story when there was clearly more story that could have been plumbed. Instead, we’re left with what feels like half a story devoid of anything that allowed us to get to know these people and their motivations.
And with that, 1984 movie reviews comes to a close. I brought you nearly 150 movies this year, and 1985 is already looking to be just as busy.
1985 Movie Reviews will launch on January 5, 2025, with The Mutilator, Rockin’ Road Trip, and Too Scared to Scream!
