Review of The Apartment (1960) by Amanda C — 24 Dec 2017

"The Apartment", a comedy written by Billy Wilder in 1960 is the story of a young man who rents out his apartment in an effort to move up in the insurance company he works at. The story revolves around C.C. Baxter, who wants nothing more than to appease those that he works for. He does this by renting out his apartment for various stretches of time so that he can both make a little extra money, as well as move up in the insurance company that he works for. Initially, the only obstacle that he has is that there are too many men interested in renting his apartment. However, when things go awry, and a woman that he is romantically interested in finds herself overdosing in C.C.'s apartment, he becomes much more protective of her and of his place. C.C. changes over the course of the film in that he starts to draw the line and have boundaries with his home and his space. The film was emotionally moving, especially in Fran's (played by Shirley MacLaine) part of the story. There's a scene where she is out to dinner with Mr. Sheldrake, her love interest, and she is elaborating to him how helpless she is that she is in love with a married man, yet she is still hoping that things will change and that he will leave his wife for her. This scene with Mr. Sheldrake is a moment where you can tell that the writing is so well done that the conversation amongst the actors is effortless.

There is also another very emotionally moving part of the film, where C.C. Baxter refuses to rent out his apartment to Mr. Sheldrake, as he has decided that in the grand scheme of things, it's not worth it for him to be renting out his apartment to men who are taking advantage of these women, all in exchange for Mr. Baxter's climb up the career ladder. This film isn't comedic throughout, however, Jack Lemmon's performance of C.C. Baxter adds a tremendous comedic layer that wouldn't be there with any other actor. His approach and characteristics make the film much funnier and more enjoyable than it would be otherwise. Overall, I feel that this film is incredibly well written, and very well done. It is such a great example of having a great cast and great team all coming together to create a great film. I especially enjoy the recurring themes executed within the film, specifically items like the gin rummy game and the broken mirror.