A particularly resonant early short by Buster Keaton, One Week follows a newlywed couple (Keaton and Sybil Seely) who receives a plot of land and a do-it-yourself home-building kit as a wedding gift. Sophisticated antics ensue, including a trial run of the falling-facade gag expanded and immortalized in Steamboat Bill, Jr., as well as a technically impressive 360-degree camera shot that follows Keaton in a circle around the house’s living room as the building itself spins in the winds of a storm. (Along with Keaton, Edward F. Cline is credited as co-writer and co-director.) What lingers emotionally, however, is the film’s journey from a “sour”—to borrow a word from its own intertitles—perspective on marriage to a romantic one. As they drive away from the ceremony, a sign on the couple’s car reads, “Good luck, You’ll need it.” And certainly their first week of literal homemaking isn’t easy. But they stay pluckily committed; even after a train smashes their abode in the ambitiously staged set piece that closes the film, they grasp hands and resolutely walk away down the tracks together. Beneath the complicated clowning, One Week offers an incisive satire about the way American society presents marriage as a pre-packaged commodity that should be easily enjoyed if you simply follow the instructions. Turns out it’s a bit more complicated.
(2/22/2022)
