Summer of Movies #4: Sunset Boulevard

Today's film is one I went in cold. I had no idea what the plot was, who was in it, who made it, anything really. All I knew was that it was considered a classic. Does this 1950 film still hold up? Let's find out in my review of...

Let's Begin

PLOT

Set in 1950's Hollywood, Joe Gillis is an aspiring screenwriter trying to make a name for himself. But like most aspiring anythings, he's broke and late on payments for his car. He finds an abandoned mansion where he hides his car 'till he can get the money, at least he thinks it's abandoned. It turns out Norma Desmond, a forgotten silent film actress that was huge in her day, still lives there with her butler Max. She than hires Joe to edit her comeback film that she wrote herself. The one rule? He has to live in the house with her until the script gets picked up, the other problem? Norma is a sad, depressed woman on the verge of insanity.

PROS

Gloria Swanson as Norma is simply breathtaking. What I thought to be over acting soon became another deep and interesting character trait that keeps the film going. All of her scenes are great and she portrays this deep and complex character so flawlessly that it looks easy. Enough can not be said to do her performance justice.

Erich von Stroheim as Max the butler is also great. He starts out as a simple side character that soon gains a sad and interesting background that is more implied than anything.

The score is amazing. It's very simple yet adds a lot to the film. 

The film deals with some pretty dark themes, which you don't expect from a movie from the 50's. This is not a happy film and isn't afraid to go to places that seem dark are sad.

CONS

The biggest problem, that may be more of a personal one than of the movie itself, is Joe Gillis. His acting is the stereotypical over acting you always get in old movies, his character is unlikable, and he narrates through most of the film. While the narration doesn't really add or subtract anything from the movie, it still seems really out of place at a lot of points and mostly states the obvious. His story is also uninteresting and takes away screen time from the more interesting stories.

CONCLUSION

This is a good movie that has elements that could have made it great, something that I would be raving about right now. But since Joe is the main character, it really detracts from the film as a whole. It is one of the classic movies that still holds up to this day, if you focus on Norma and her story. But that aspect of the movie is not in there enough to make it a must see.

RATING

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