M - 1931 - 4½ Stars

Actors:  Peter Lorre, Ellen Widmann
Director:  Fritz Lang

'We have it down to a science' is something that gets said a lot of times, and that's a desirable thing.  It  means that if we follow certain steps, we'll end up at our desired result every time.  Filmmaking is to a large degree a science now, especially with larger budget movies.  Scripts are split into acts, conflicts arise at certain points, they get resolved, and it's all very clean - audiences are rarely upset with this sort of film if it's well-made, well-acted, and plausible within its own logic.

M is not a film like this.  It wasn't made when filmmaking was a science - it's an art picture.  There are long stretches of silence.  There are scenes that go on too long.  There are loose threads.  Regardless, it's a stunning achievement in film, one that manages to engage the viewer philosophically while still managing to tell a story visually.