Absolutely loved the premise for 'The Man Who Played God' (aka 'The Silent Voice'), being a musician and being a fan of classical music. So already found myself relating. It was also notable for being a very young Bette Davis' Warner Bros debut when still finding her feet and style. Really though, despite that being the film's main interest point, she is not the film's star. That would be the actual lead George Arliss as the titular character.
'The Man Who Played God' for me was a great film and one of the better films out of my recent film viewings. While Arliss and the music are the two main reasons as to why 'The Man Who Played God' is the great film that it is, Davis fares incredibly well in her Warner Bros debut. Will elaborate more later on in the review. Anybody who loves music, especially classical, a cast at the top of their game and was intrigued by the premise should find plenty to love here.
Sure, the story is on the thin side and with the odd slow stretch. Not bad enough though to be considered too much of a short film stretched out to feature length, thousands of other films fared far worse in that regard.
However, 'The Man Who Played God' was clearly made with a lot of care and skill and it is very sensitively directed by John Adolfi. The script balances hopefulness, melancholy adeptly and with a lot of sincerity, things don't get too comical and nothing comes over as over-sentimental. The storytelling is most of the time absorbing and so gently charming, so easy to like. Loved the initial upbeat feel while the sadder aspects are genuinely moving, by the end one feels really inspired. The moralising doesn't preach either and so easy to identify with.
Montgomery is a very likeable character and to me he was inspirational and relatable, being somebody myself who has had to overcome a lot of obstacles and find ways of adapting. Which can be very hard but achievable with the right amount of determination. To me, the romantic chemistry between Montgomery and Grace was very affectionately done.
One cannot talk about 'The Man Who Played God' without mentioning the music, which contains some of the most beautiful music written for the piano (would have liked more of it though). Especially Beethoven's "Moonlight" sonata which is in perfect keeping with the film's tone. Not enough has been said about Salvatore Santaella's quite exquisite playing, this is how to perform difficult music (one doesn't need to be a pianist to know that Chopin is not an easy play, not as hard as Rachmaninov though) with delicacy and nuance. Arliss is mesmerising, elegant, sometimes jovial and often heartfelt and not too theatrical. Davis gives a performance full of passion and grace, this is how to do a studio debut. One shouldn't overlook the supporting cast though, with Violet Heming showing why she should have done far more films with her understated forcefulness.
In conclusion, beautifully done film and a must for Davis and especially Arliss. 9/10
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