A subtle, subdued character study of a miserly pawnbroker
(Sjöström himself, giving a delicately nuanced
performance) who is gradually restored to humanity by his
relationship with the girl he accepts as a pledge. The film is notable
for its evasion of sentimentality and melodrama: the protagonist's
transformation is tentative and slight, while the girl is no innocent.
The scene in which she reveals her plans to trick the pawnbroker demands
an extraordinary revaluation of the events we have witnessed.
Sjöström directs it all with intelligence, grace, and a
careful reflection of human feeling in interior and exterior space.
Touching.
