Review of Sunset Boulevard (1950) by Erik P — 18 Mar 2010

This is one of my favorite movies of all time, so I hope I can review it well enough to do it justice.

It starts off with police officers flocking to the scene of a homicide; the movie then flashes back to 6 months before where the story starts. It follows a screenwriter named Joe Gillis who hasn't been having good luck with his scripts, one day he is driving and gets a flat tire that forces him to pull off the road. Luckily he ends up at Norma Desmond's mansion (yes THAT Norma Desmond, the former mega silent movie star), and she lets him stay for a while. He writes a script with her that will bring her back to prominence, but while doing so he also works on a script with another woman and they fall in love.

The most intriguing part of the story is Norma Desmond. She is convinced that she is still enormously famous, despite not being in a movie for many years. The character is perfect, she is so obsessed with fame and stardom, and over the course of the movie it is evident that these obsessions tear her away from sanity. The actor who plays Joe Gillis does a good job, he is very convincing- when he started getting upset with Norma, I started getting upset with her too.

What makes this movie special is its dark humor that is mixed within a serious crime drama. That and the way it plays on the shallowness of Hollywood. It is one of the most entertaining movies I have ever seen, and it offers my favorite quote of any film. Overall I say this movie is a must see, so Netflix it already...