That woman is Ilsa, played, of course, by Ingrid Bergman, and is here in Casablanca with her husband, a leader of an underground movement who has experienced a year in a concentration camp. The couple wants to escape to America, but, of course, difficulties abound, most surely because of the reputation of the husband, whom the Germans' don`t want out of their sight. It is at this point where the real love story is revealed, as we are shown flashbacks of Rick and Ilsa in Paris just before the Nazi occupation, and the moment which seems like a betrayal, when Ilsa suddenly breaks off the plan for her to escape with him to a safer place. Rick has always resented that, which makes him the apathetic, apolitical loner he is now. The two must now attempt to put aside their problems and atttempt to solve the bigger problem of how to escape this godforsaken town and find freedom, away from the Nazis.
Humphrey Bogart, as always, is very interesting. While he has a reputation as a tough guy, he shows here that he is capable of more dramatic emotions. This is the case on the night after he is reunited with Ilsa. He wallows in misery and self-pity, as well as in drink, demanding Sam to play "their" song he vowed he`d never hear again, and basically replaying those old memories in his head, wondering how Ilsa would do such a thing as to leave.
Ingrid Bergman appears to me in this movie to be a follower, not a leader. Ilsa seems stuck in her life, and unable to make choices for herself. She thought her husband was dead, so she had her affair with Rick, but, when the husband returns, she goes back to being the put-upon sidekick in the drama. She is conflicted by her different loves, and does not know the right choice to make. As usual, it is up to the romantic hero (Bogart) to make that choice for her.
And Claude Rains is by far the most amusing aspect of the picture. His Captain Louis allegedly controls the daily affairs of Casablanca, but in reality sucks up to whomever crosses his path, especially the German officers who come into town to find those who attempt to undermine Nazi rule. Louis does not seem to have any convictions at all. He only wants a comfortable life - whether it`s ensuring that he wins at Rick`s roulette table or appeasing Germans, he does not want any petty problems of conscience infesting his soul. Rains has always been an interesting actor (Notorious, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington), mainly because he does not play his villains in the usual manner. He does not really play them as villains, but as people whose true feelings are in conflict with the need to act the "proper" role. In Notorious, he was a Nazi who truly cared for Ingrid Bergman, in Mr. Smith, he was a senator whose principles were long ago poisoned due to the overall corrupt political atmosphere of the Senate, and in this movie, he is seduced by the corruptible nature of his position, even though we get the sense that he is not really a bad guy.
