Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

This Bette Davis movie is a lot different from most movies she has appeared in.  Instead of being cast as a sharp-tongue, independent women, in Now, Voyager Davis is a shy, emotionally depressed woman who has endured a lifetime of emotional abuse.  I don’t know if she liked the role or not, but it was a very good performance and probably helped enhance her career.

In Now, Voyager (1942), Bette Davis portrays Miss Charlotte Vale, the unmarried daughter of a very wealthy and domineering mother (Gladys Cooper). Charlotte’s life is almost completely controlled by her mother. She has to wear frumpy clothing, clunky shoes, and is forbidden from making herself look attractive. Even the books she reads and people she sees are strictly monitored by her mother. In exchange for the abuse, Charlotte lives in a splendid mansion and is a member of one of Boston’s most respected families. But it’s little more than a comfortable concentration camp for Charlotte.

One day Charlotte’s sister-in-law brings psychiatrist Dr. Jaquith (Claude Rains) to the home to observe Charlotte.  Fearing that Charlotte is about to have a nervous breakdown, Dr. Jaquith commits her to a sanitarium to recuperate. Once away from her domineering mother, Charlotte takes her first cautious steps towards independence. And after she is released from the sanitarium Charlotte takes a long, leisurely cruise to South America for further relaxation.

On the long journey Charlotte blossoms into a finely-cultured woman. She wears fashionable clothes and begins a tentative relationship with Jerry Durrance (Paul Henreid), who is unhappily married and on an extended business trip by himself.  Although they fall in love, the relationship seems doomed since Charlotte eventually has to return home and resume her life as the brow-beaten daughter of her mother.  Eventually Charlotte and her mother clash and she then must decide how to live her life for her own sake, and for the sake of those she has fallen in love with.

Now, Voyager offers many fine acting performances, starting with Bette Davis. She convincingly transforms from the ugly duckling daughter to a beautiful, thoughtful woman.  Davis is ‘’nice’’ in almost every scene. No sarcasm or barbed commentary from Davis in this film – she rises above of it all (for the most part) in order to find a better life for herself. Claude Rains is also very good portraying the thoughtful psychiatrist. His parts are not really prominent in the film, but are often at pivotal moments.

Paul Henreid is Bette Davis’ love interest in the film.  He comes across as a thoughtful debonair man who is trying to admit his marriage is a disaster. I actually liked him more in this film than in his high-profile character in Casablanca. Perhaps because he was more personable in this role? Henreid’s character appears in one iconic scene when he lights two cigarettes at one time and then hands one to Charlotte. Maybe you have to see it to get it, but the scene is memorable.

Gladys Cooper portraying the domineering Mrs. Vale gives a performance you can’t forget even if you wanted to. She almost never wavers from her severe, unyielding mindset.  Even when lying in bed or just sitting in a chair, Cooper’s character dominates the scene.  On the other hand there is the depressed and emotionally unbalanced Tina Durrance (Janis Wilson) who becomes a mirror image of what Charlotte must have been like as a pre-teen.  Tina overacts just a wee-bit as a crying, lonely girl desperately looking for familial love. But her character is critical to the movie’s outcome even though for some reason she plays an uncredited part in the film.

Now, Voyager is a little too melodramatic at times, but overall I enjoyed watching the movie.  It had several really good performances and the story was believable. I liked seeing how the different characters interacted with each other, and how their characters either grew stronger or weaker as the story of Charlotte’s life changed. I’ll rate it as 4 stars .

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older