One of the many productions to tackle issues later forbidden by the Hays Code, THE Divorcée is a completely modern account about a marriage gone bad due to the infidelities and debaucheries of not only the man, but the woman. That the woman in question was none other than Norma Shearer in a very risky move which paid off and gave her the Oscar for Best Actress proves the mettle in Shearer, but also proved the implicit involvement of Irving Thalberg.
Like early talkies, there is a tinny, flat quality to the sound which lessens some of the emotional impact from the movie, and the way these people talk is a little too rapid at times, with an emphasis in staging every sentence with meaning -- a holdover from the silent movie days. Harsh lighting doesn't help, as some of the cuts between scenes and dissolves which indicate either the passing of time (and their debauchery) and Jerry's liaisons with other men, shown awkwardly in close-ups of their hands and off-screen dialog.
This is a movie to view as a study of American culture at the very end of the Roaring Twenties when women were assuredly emancipating their position in society, but there isn't a dated bone in this story's body: women even today are still punished in many societies, including ours, if they decide to take matters into their own hands, a point THE Divorcée makes very well. The only segment in which it falters is right at the end, when Jerry decides she loves Ted after all and would like to renew their marriage: on seeing their brittle relationship, it somehow comes off false although Shearer's performance and the way her character is written does not make it so. However, her choice to be happily married over being a swinging baby comes off as a reflection of not only women but people even today, and in that way, this film is a great example.
Shearer gave much better performances than the one she was awarded for; however, it's up to the viewer to decide if hers Oscar-worthy. Considering her competition, it must have been tight.
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