Review of Sunset Boulevard (1950) by Lorenzo V — 27 Aug 2009

"I am big! It's the pictures that got small.".

A hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent-film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity.

REVIEW.

"Sunset Boulevard" represents Billy Wilder at his most acidic and ghoulish, but it's a testament to his genius as a film maker that he could create a film as relentlessly bleak and cynical as this one and make it devilishly entertaining (and even quite funny at times) rather than unbearably depressing.

There's a big fat heart at the center of Wilder's bitter pill, and it's one that could be easily missed amid the dark, film-noirish exterior. I think that ultimately "Sunset Boulevard" is about the love of movies. You can tell that Wilder loves movies as much as the sad and decaying film star Norma Desmond, played brilliant by Gloria Swanson. But he understands with an insider's point of view that there's a seedy underside to every business, and that's what he sets out to expose in his film. Movies get made and stars are born, but for every birth there's a death.

I don't know how much of Swanson's performance is acting or her just being herself. If you allow yourself to think about it too long, Wilder's use of her is almost cruel, as making fun of Norma Desmond the character nearly amounts to making fun of Swanson the actress. The whole movie is uncomfortable in that same way--it's like a bunch of Hollywood used-to-be's got together and decided to let themselves be parodied for a greater cause. But the film stops just short of cruelty, because in many ways Norma is the most sympathetic character in the film, and every so often there's a glimpse of the vulnerable human being underneath that ridiculous getup that begs to be loved, and who can't relate to that?

William Holden is perfect in a non-showy role that it would be tempting to pass off as an easy one. But I don't think it is an easy role. Holden has to be responsible for tempering the audience's reaction to Norma--he's the moral conscience of the film, and his steady presence anchors it and keeps it from sailing headlong into camp.

There are so many quotable lines in this film, I don't know where to begin. Imagine this film and "All About Eve" coming out in the same year. It's a movie quote fan's wet dream.

In an eerie bit of prophetic trivia, apparently Gloria Swanson thought this film would signal such a major comeback for her that she began plans to write a stage musical based on the film, starring herself. (She might even have gotten as far as completing it). Of course nothing ever came of it, and Swanson sunk quickly back into obscurity. But she would be vindicated to know that a stage musical did eventually appear, courtesy of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, and it actually does quite a bit of justice to Wilder's film.