Fascinating movie. There are flashes of brilliance, as you'd expect, and it feels like the bones of something really magnificent are there. Then at the same time there are so many bizarre elements that don't work that it feels like a failure, if only compared to what I imagine it could have been without studio interference. Plot elements don't add up, multiple characters make some truly incomprehensible accent and line reading choices, and the courtroom scene is supremely baffling.

But I actually felt like Welles himself was the biggest missing piece: Welles as an actor and a person is just too intelligent, too knowing, to play a character so hapless and foolish. One reason Kane worked was because Welles has the aura of someone who is perpetually the smartest person in the room--Michael O'Hara, as he repeatedly tells us, is definitely not. And unfortunately, Welles' acting ability isn't able to transcend the persona.

Damn... that hall of mirrors scene! Great film, but like some of Welles' others, I can't help but wonder just how much better it would have been if he hadn't been hamstrung by the studio and circumstances beyond his control. The fact that he managed to make some incredible films despite the reported incidences of studio interference is a testament to his genius.

After many years without seeing her I still love it shows who whas his director

Hmm… not particularly a fan of film noir in general and there isn’t much to distinguish this from the numerous others made during the 40’s, apart from the mirror scene and Welles’s awful Irish accent.

Perhaps it would have been better without all the studio interference.

It’s not bad. It’s fine. Just not outstanding in any way.

The mirror scene is just awe-inspiring. I couldn't even focus on the dialogue.
If only modern Hollywood films could give us just one memorable sequence...

Like New York's Chelsea Hotel, it's really only famous for the people in it (though at least it's better than Welles' Irish accent).