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Citizen Kane (1941) is a
movie whose story and reputation has overshadowed its creator, Orson Welles,
and the movie itself. For many years it was described as the Greatest Movie of
All Time, and Welles never managed to make a movie that was as successful. It was
not for lack of trying, Welles having directed and starred in plenty of other
great movies, but none had the impact of Citizen Kane. You might have
heard the expression “this movie is the Citizen Kane of its genre” to
describe a movie’s quality. Given it is ranked 28th on Empire magazine’s
Greatest Movies list of 2008 shows there are better movies. There is however no
denying it is a cinematic achievement, whose themes of greed and power remain
relevant to this day.
It is also a movie so influential that the first time
I watched Citizen Kane’s story was as a parody on Tiny Toon Adventures
with rich kid Montana Max in the role of Kane, and Hamton J. Pig as the
journalist investigating his story. It’s funny how writers of cartoons love to
parody movies that their target audience has most likely never seen. Eventually
I did see the actual movie when I bought a special edition DVD loaded with
documentaries and a Roger Ebert commentary track. Among other things, I was
surprised at how faithful the Tiny Toon Adventures writers were to the movie.
One of Citizen Kane’s innovations is its use of
fractured storytelling, something that has influenced many filmmakers in the
years since its release. The story being pieced together is that of Charles
Foster Kane (played remarkably well at various ages by Welles) an American newspaper
and industrial magnate. His death, taking place inside his massive Florida
estate named Xanadu, is the movie’s inciting incident as the press wants to know
the meaning behind his dying word, “Rosebud”. Reporter Jerry Thompson (William
Alland) sets out to find the meaning of the magnate’s last word, leading him to
interview the major people who knew him.
It's a solid plot device, allowing for the mapping of
the life of a man who climbed to power, took a huge plunge, and left quite a
lot of damage in his wake. Thanks to wise investing on his mother’s part, Kane
was rich by 25. With his wealth he decided to go into journalism, buying the best
reporters to write to stories he wanted and influence events. His credo is best
summed up by his orders to a reporter in Cuba: “You provide the prose poems. I’ll
provide the war.” Those words may sound familiar to anyone familiar with either
real-life media barons or with a Bond villain from the Pierce Brosnan era.
Kane’s next step in life is of course politics,
starting with his marriage to Emily Norton (Ruth Warrick), the niece of the
American president. In an iconic scene, Kane addresses a rapturous crowd at
Madison Square Garden for his run for governor. A huge sign with his picture
stands behind him, with his name in big, bold letters. Here is a man who
believes his name is now synonymous with success. However as is often the case
in politics, he is also his own worst enemy. The first signs of trouble are the
slow disintegration of his marriage, and then his ill-fated affair with aspiring
singer Susan (Dorothy Comingore).
As Jerry Thompson interviews Susan and other members
of Kane’s past, he tries to piece together not only the meaning of “Rosebud”
but also who was Charles Foster Kane. The interviews paint the portrait of a
man who was rich but ultimately unhappy, and in desperate need to control
everything and everyone around him. There are hints of Kane in other wealthy
and unhappy characters in cinema, such as Daniel Plainview in There Will Be
Blood, or Mark Zuckerberg from The Social Network. The old saying “money
doesn’t buy happiness” is laughable to anyone who is not rich, but characters
like Kane show that money will never fill whatever gaping hole they have in
their heart. It’s a lesson a certain ex-president, who coincidently also has a
massive estate in Florida, might want to learn one day.
As to whether Citizen Kane is the greatest
movie of all time, for my taste I would not say it is my favourite movie. I
actually found Welles’ Touch of Evil to be more entertaining. On some days
I think the greatest movie of all time can be The Godfather, Fargo,
Jaws, or even The Big Lebowski. However, given how relevant the
story of Citizen Kane is to modern politics and journalism it is a movie that should remain on everyone's watch list.
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