The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) Review- Ava Harper

Written by: Ava Harper, October 3rd, 2023

Woody Allen’s The Purple Rose of Cairo is a timeless story of love in desperate times. We follow Cecilia, played by Mia Farrow, as she longs to escape her life with her abusive husband during the Great Depression. She finds solace at the movie theater, where she sees the film The Purple Rose of Cairo, an RKO picture following an archaeologist returning to New York and finding love. Cecilia is instantly transfixed, seeing the movie as many times as possible and becoming enamored by the archaeologist Tom Baxter, played by Jeff Daniels. The film’s imagination begins to run wild when Baxter directly talks to Cecilia and walks out of the movie and into the real world. Conflict arises when Gil Shepherd, the actor who played Baxter, is summoned to get his character back on the silver screen. Cecilia finds herself falling for both men, but must ultimately decide between fact and fiction.

While there are no traditional villains in the film, I would argue that reality is the force our characters must overcome. Cecilia’s reality consists of an unloving husband and economic depravity, of course she would escape to the movie theater and fall for a fictional character. Though she cares deeply about Tom, she understands that his time with her is limited as the studio is desperate to get the character back to the movie. She realizes the closest thing to Tom is Gil, a man she can truly be with. When the time comes for Cecilia to make her decision, either live with Tom in The Purple Rose of Cairo or stay in the real world with Gil, she chooses the latter. What seems like the sensible option backfires when Gil returns to Hollywood without Cecilia. Heartbroken, she returns to the theater to see the newly-released Top Hat and can’t help but cry at the sheer happiness presented on the screen. In my opinion, this ending sets it apart from similar films such as Sherlock Jr., where Buster Keaton, though living vicariously through the films he projects, still prevails in the end when he kisses the woman he loves. Purple Rose still manages to capture the same enchanting magic found in film as Sherlock Jr, this time with a touch of harsh reality.

10/10