Shoes

Lois Weber's 1916 film follows a young woman working in a shop whose wages support her entire family. Her shoes have fallen apart and she cannot afford new ones. Through that single object the film shows what poverty forces a person to choose, and it does not judge where she ends up. Weber was among the most prolific and influential directors of the silent era, making films that placed social questions directly at the centre. Her method here is striking: instead of conveying the heroine's inner life through intertitles, she looks at the body and at objects. Tired feet, a hole in a sole, a shoe in a shop window. Mary MacLaren's performance is unusually restrained for the period. The film was unavailable in complete form for a long stretch and returned to circulation through later restoration work. Who it's for: those interested in silent film history and in the early place of women directors. Who it's not for: viewers wanting fast narrative; it runs under an hour but its pace is deliberately slow.