Movie Stats:
Released 1945 (USA)
American, in English
Director – Billy Wilder
Stars – Ray Milland & Jane Wyman
Plot Summary:
The movie follows the life of alcoholic Don Birnham
(Milland), recently returned from rehab and ten days sober, as, over the course
of one four-day weekend, he slowly descends deep into the throes of a bender. Wyman
stars as his devoted girlfriend, Helen St. James.
Bad Stuff:
I really disliked the ending. This is a movie that packs a
really strong punch. The back of the DVD case tells me that the film nearly
wasn’t released because it didn’t do well with test audiences. That’s probably
because of the stark realism, which (judging by the rest of the Oscar winners
I’ve watched) was in short supply back in the day. Even if you’ve never been an
alcoholic or have never known one, the desperation that permeates throughout is
probably something with which practically anyone can relate. It can be kind of
brutal at times.
Therefore, the ending didn’t feel right to me. While the
upbeat tone of it wasn’t set in stone – who knows how things would have truly
played out for these characters beyond this one lost weekend – it still seemed
a bit of a cop out. However, the movie is based on a book. Since I’ve never
read it, I have no idea how true the film is to that book, so the ending might be the author's fault, not the movie's.
Good Stuff:
Fantastic acting from Milland. I loved watching him slowly
fall apart. The scene where he’s suffering from the DTs is phenomenal, truly
freaky (despite the bad special effects). The rest of the actors were pretty
good too. I especially enjoyed Howard Da Silva, who played disapproving bartender
Nat.
Based upon my somewhat limited experience with addicts, it
seemed like a very true portrayal of alcoholism to me.
This is one of those dramas that really just hurts so good.
Know what I mean?
The Verdict:
I
was really looking forward to this one, and it didn’t disappoint – much. If not
for the kind of lame ending, I would have rated it at least half a star higher.
As it is, I give this movie 4 stars.
5 comments:
Cameron Crowe really loves Billy Wilder and I've contemplated having a personal film fest of his movies. This review might have nudged me a step closer.
Wilder directed some great movies. He got another Best Picture winner in 1960 for "The Apartment," but one of my all-time faves is "Some Like It Hot."
And I think "Some Like it Hot" is the only one of his I've seen.
Checking his list I see I've seen Sunset Boulevard (which I LOVED), Sabrina (which I did not like, but would be willing to watch again), The Seven Year Itch (eh) and that's it. But there are movies on his list that I've been meaning to see for years. I sense a project gathering steam...
Sadly, my next movie project (an A-Z challenge of movies I've never seen, has started gathering steam. Not going to start it until I'm done with the Oscar winners though.
This sounds interesting. And rather large as the number of movies you haven't seen must be gargantuan. You must have some narrowing criteria. I'll look forward to reading about it.
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