I found “Out of the Past,” like most of the movies we have watched thus far, awfully confusing. Taking notes while simultaneously keeping track of these zany storylines is like rubbing my tummy and patting my head for me. But in our most recent film, this feeling of disorientation was amplified. Aside from the complicated plot (flashbacks, money trails, kind-hearted gangsters, oh my!) and ever-present cultural gap, “Out of the Past” also included seemingly superfluous characters. Specifically, I found the characters portrayed by Virginia Huston and Dickie Moore – Ann and “the kid,” respectively – unnecessary. What strikes me as odd, however, is that (and this is one of those subjective sentiments I find hard to explain) these characters, though relatively unimportant, seem to have a disproportionate amount of gravitas forced upon them.
Tourneur’s decisions, intentional or coincidental, strike me two different ways. Once I got past the aforementioned confusion about Ann’s role in the film (I thought they were married at first), I enjoyed the fact that Jeff was relaying his flashback story to a human, and making a human connection, rather than speaking in some sort of direct aside to the audience. In many ways, I feel like Ann represents the human version of the voice-recorder used by Inspector Neff in “Double Indemnity,” and I like that. I thought the plot device of Neff’s confession was interesting, but ultimately a cop-out.
However, when it comes to “the Kid,” I was perturbed. His character appears, at first, to be a kind-hearted, loyal worker for Jeff, who serves as the smooth transition between Jack (Whit’s man) and Jeff. Unfortunately, I feel he evolves into a go-to for Tourneur, thrown into the plot whenever an action doesn’t really fit any other character’s M.O. Case-in-point: he kills Jeff’s would-be assassin? He also provides an awkward capper to Ann’s storyline by informing her of Jeff’s intentions with Kathie. With the final shot, as the Kid salutes Jeff’s sign, I was solely left wondering, “Why do you exist?”
