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It has been about six months since I talked about the theory of an idiot plot, so I hope it won’t be an issue if I explain it yet again. To explain briefly, an idiot plot relies on one or more characters being total idiots. They get caught in a situation where they can easily escape using basic logic but they don’t. If they did, it wouldn’t be a problem and we would not have a movie.
Idiot plots tend to crop up in terrible movies, but from time to time they do manage to slip into some good movies like this one, causing great annoyance. ‘Wait Until Dark’ is about this blind girl (Audrey Hepburn) wife whose husband unintentionally has a doll that is filled to the brim with heroin. When she is home alone, three men try to terrorize her in search of the doll.
They plan an elaborate skit where one guy pretends to be a cop, another plays a friend of her husband from college, and the last guy acts as but don’t worry about that. The point is these three walk in and out of her flat at will. The door is not locked. First one dude comes in and then leaves and another one enters. At last, the girl understands that she is actually put into danger.
So far, so good. To some degree, we are willing to buy into the first hour of the movie, although it is highly unreasonable, purely because we like to be entertained and wish to be delighted. But when the girl finally realizes her impending danger, why does she not simply LOCK THAT DOOR?
She is still all by herself. The lads have stepped out momentarily. Don’t forget that a small child is residing upstairs and Audrey sends her to the bus station to wait for her husband’s bus. (Another idiot plot blunder why not send the poor girl to the police?) Now she’s completely alone again. The door is unlocked. But she is free to lock it. She doesn’t.
The bad guys are coming and going into the apartment like they are contestants in a revolving door sweepstakes. Do I feel scared when the lights in the theater have turned out and it is the last scene and the 19th row is darker than usual? No, I am in a state of shock, looking for the answers to why she does not bother locking the door.
This is a good movie and I’m not saying it’s not, but Alan Arkin (as an over-the-top performance of a sadistic murderer) is particularly unconvincing and Miss Hepburn is possibly a little too naive. There are, however, some memorable moments of absolute terror (including that renowned scene where every teenage girl in the cinema screams) and, although it is gently slow, the plot does grow on you after a while. I don’t believe Audrey Hepburn should have received an Academy nomination for her performance (she was a lot better in ‘Two for the Road’) but then, I’m not trying to find flaws here. My needs are not unreasonable. All I want is for her to close that door. Now!
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