WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

JohnHowardReid Perfect Understanding (1932) seems to be the movie that everyone loves to hate. But I enjoyed it – right up to the last quarter-hour or so. I thought Gloria Swanson was in fine form, even though super-lovely Genevieve Tobin had the more suitable role. Admittedly, Laurence Olivier tended to be a bit dull at times, though his boat-racing sequence was a genuine thrill. My only real quarrel was with the climactic courtroom scenes which – although produced on a grand scale – were just too outlandishly ridiculous to be taken seriously. I was also a bit disappointed that John Halliday's role disappears about halfway through. It would have made more dramatic sense to save him for the courtroom climax which needed a steadying influence and now comes across as just too absurdly farcical. Halliday would have given these scenes a believable basis in solid reality. I thought this stratagem was so obvious that I actually kept waiting for his re-appearance, but no such luck. Now I wonder what Halliday was doing in the movie at all. Why go to a lot of trouble to introduce a character into the plot, make a big to-do about establishing his credentials and then drop that character when you most need him? It doesn't make sense! And there's yet another player who is elaborately introduced into the action and then simply dropped – although she is still referred to in the dialogue – namely the super-lovely Genevieve Tobin! Well, maybe it was a case of making a film in haste and repenting at leisure. Available on an excellent Cohen DVD.

marcslope That's the song Gloria sings over the closing credits; the reverse could be emblematic of the film, a trying-to-be-chic trifle that is nonetheless amusing in its stilted sophistication and odd cinematography. Gloria and Olivier swan about modern London--she's an American interior decorator, he appears to be independently wealthy--and do some rather pre-Code making out before deciding to marry. Misunderstandings quickly pile up as each, though nominally terribly terribly in love with each other, contemplate extramarital affairs. There's also intrigue about his suspicion that she's carrying someone else's child--it's far too racy to have been made in the U.S. at the time, and was filmed in Britain by Gloria's production company. The dialogue strains to be Somerset Maugham witty and the supporting cast is nothing special, though Miles Malleson has a nice bit. Gloria is certainly glamorous and good at eye-batting, and Olivier, playing a spoiled bachelor it's hard to root for, has some charm. Also fun is the hilariously overemphatic musical scoring--every comma seems to be accentuated with a crescendo. Not much of a movie, but an interesting look at two stars at uncomfortable times in their film careers.

malcolmgsw By the time that Gloria Swanson made this film it was clear that her screen career was in terminal decline and that the only way of continuing to make films was to finance them herself.this film is truly awful and there is not one good thing to say about it.Swanson acts at times as if she is still making a silent film with too much overreacting.Olivier is at his mannered worst.Only a great director like Wyler could teach him how to act for the camera.The music is loud and intrusive in the worst traditions of mickey mousing.As for the script well that is laughable.It is totally implausible.The climax in the Divorce Courts is ridiculous.The idea that in the middle of a Court hearing one partner decides he loves the other too much and cant go through with it is more suited to an Aldwych farce.It is one of the few failings of this otherwise excellent site that fans of stars can see no wrong in their favourite and feel that they must give every film they appear in a 10.If you are a fan of Swanson you will probably like this ,if not well it is only worth watching for its curiosity value.

drednm One of five talkies Gloria Swanson made in her early talkie period. This is a forgotten gem of a romantic comedy-drama about "two modernes" whose marriage is not a traditional one but a "perfect understanding." Like THE TRESPASSER, INDISCREET, TONIGHT OR NEVER, and MUSIC IN THE AIR, a solid film with a terrific performance by its star--Gloria Swanson. But along with WHAT A WIDOW (a lost film) this was a flop at the box office after the smash hit talkie debut with THE TRESPASSER in 1929.Swanson plays an American interior designer who marries a wealthy Brit, Laurence Olivier, but only after agreeing to have a perfect understanding of a marriage. After a lengthy honeymoon in Europe Swanson heads back to London to do a few jobs while Olivier stays behind in Cannes. Enter the spoiler: a woman who schemes to break up the marriage. Back in London Olivier admits his indiscretion so Swanson sets out to get even. She can't do it but he believes she did. Divorce proceedings begin. Nothing really new here but the two stars are wonderful and gorgeous and worth every minute of screen time.Co-stars include John Halliday, Nora Swinburne as the spoiler, Miles Malleson, Genevieve Tobin, Miles Malleson (who also wrote the script), and Swanson's then husband, Michael Farmer.Terrific scenes include a "cocktail regatta," which involves cocktails served at various stops during a speedboat race at Cannes! The race is the catalyst in breaking up the marriage. Swanson also sings a nice song, "I Love You So Much That I Hate You." Both Swanson and Olivier look great and the sets and lighting are beautiful in the newly restored print. The plot twist at the end is neat and satisfying.