Saturday, March 04, 2006
Saturday Night at the Movies: Sunset Blvd.
plot outline via IMDB
Joe Gillis, an unsuccessful screenplay writer, escapes the finance men who are trying to reclaim his car by driving into the garage of an old mansion on Sunset Boulevard. Assumed to be someone else, he is led by Max the butler to the mansion's owner, silent film star Norma Desmond. Wishing to make a comeback, she hires him to rewrite her "Salome" script, then falls in love with him. Joe moves into the mansion as a kept man. Secretly, Joe is collaborating with a pretty young screenplay editor, Betty Schaefer, on another idea. Though she is engaged to his best friend, Artie Green, an assistant director, Betty falls in love with Joe. When Betty finds out about Norma, she asks him to leave Norma for her, but Joe can't unsettle her life, too. He decides, instead, to leave Hollywood. As he is leaving, a crazed Norma tries to stop him.
This is more then likely the best film that Billy Wilder has ever directed. Sunset Blvd. is one of the more disturbing movies i've ever seen in terms of characterization. The character of Joe Gillis played by William Holden may be the leading character but he is definitely not the focus of the film. The true star of this film IMO is Gloria Swanson as the delusioned and quite frankly crazy former silent film star.
One can tell this is a movie of great significance right from the opening credits with the powerful music playing and the sombre naration by the Gillis character. Now, normally I think movies with naration tend to be bad for the most part because the naration is often a crutch to move the story along. this movie however uses naration in a great way as you get a feel for the mood and the characters.
The Norma Desmond character reminds me so much of Mrs. Havisham in the book Great Expectations. Desmond is this great silent movie star who isolates herself living in the past in a run down white elephant of a mansion. Swanson is amazing playing this highly disturbed woman who believes she's as big of a star now as she was back then. The delusionment is laid on so thick that one gets chills just watching this woman go on and on clinging to a past that she sees through rose coloured glasses.
There are many great moments in the film but the one moment that crystalizes the entire movie is in a scene where Gillis and Desmond are watching one of her old silent movies in her home. She goes on about how there are no real actors in Hollywood anymore. They don't have the facial acting and the eyes to convey the emotions. She then goes on to proclaim that she'll be back on screen. As she does this she stands up and the light of the projector catches her face in a striking way that captures the pathos of her character.
this is definitely a top 10 or 20 film of all time. I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it to you all.
Oh one last thing, I was shocked seeing Jack Webb playing a happy go lucky part with such energy. It's an amazing contrast from the one note, monotone Joe Friday.
# posted by Chris Fung @ 9:50 PM 
