Sunset Boulevard

The 1950s black comedy, Sunset Boulevard, is one of many films to be considered the greatest ever invented, and despite the fact that it is almost a century old, remains as a fairly timeless picture to look back on. The story of a struggling writer falling under the grasp of a psychotic aging silent film actress who refuses to accept the passage of time and demands another chance, may have ruffled a few feathers at the time (mainly those in Hollywood who didn’t appreciate the film’s cynical take on how it treats its talent), but this didn’t cause the film any strife, as it was met with very strong reviews and earned a total of eleven nominations at the year’s Academy Award’s (while taking home three). Fittingly given the subject matter, It has remained relevant throughout the years, with various quotable lines and iconic scenes, topics that are still worth discussing especially in regard to the treatment of older talent in the film industry, and even sparked a very popular Broadway musical starring Patti LuPone and Glenn Close with songs by Andrew Llyod Webber. Whether at release or several years after, Subset Boulevard seems to have not lost touch. A struggling writer named Joe Gillis (played by William Holden) is having to deal with his scripts being rejected whilst also being tailed by repo men who are trying to confiscate his overdue car. While his initial plan is to ditch the country and start fresh somewhere else, he finds himself hiding at the residence of Norma Desmond (played by Gloria Swanson), a former big-time silent film actress who is currently writing a script that she believes will put her back in the spotlight. After conning his way into being her script doctor through his flattering tongue (which he quickly regrets when he sees that the script is terrible), Joe finally has a method of earning income, which is noticed by Betty Schaefer (played by Nancy Olson), a script reader for Paramount who wishes to work with Joe  to bolster her own aspiring career as a writer, but he is often prevented from doing so due to Norma’s erratic and extremely jealous behavior. With the writing being on the wall about Norma’s film yet frustratingly being unable to get through to this aging legend, Joe has unknowingly scripted himself into a psychologically scarring situation, one that might not be able to survive. With very entertaining performances, engaging visuals and production value, a strong clever script, and a biting sense of humor that brings a twisted awareness to a retro style of filmmaking, Sunset Boulevard remained a classic for a reasons.

It’s not uncommon to see modern films or even ones  during the final stages of classic Hollywood, exposing the less-than-favorable aspects of the industry, but seeing one made within the Golden Age is a little shocking. The 1950s were really a bridge period for the industry, being just before the New Hollywood Wave (where creatives had a bit more command than the heads of studio divisions, and television became a competitor), but it was also during the time of things like the Hays Code and McCarthyism (which restricted a lot of what could and couldn’t be shown in film and kept things within an outdated status quo), so the fact that this movie was able to provide a biting and even mostly unfiltered look at the system during this period was an impressive feat. A lot of this plus the film’s clear allusions to classic Hollywood tropes, comes from Billy Wilder, who directed and wrote this film after being inspired by the stories of aging silent film stars stewing away in their lavish Los Angeles manors being forgotten by time. The fun quality about this idea is that while the set-up is quite clever and weaves together components of love, obsession, and past regrets in a way that blends pretty nicely with the movie’s allusions to genres like film noir and psychological thrillers, the film is also pretty comedic and houses a dark sense of humor against its unrhetorical narrative. For what could be presented as a straightforward thriller that even has the potential to be heartbreaking and dramatic, the humorous undertones and dabbles in over-the-top campiness makes the film a little off-putting at first, particularly during the opening act that, while still good, has an airiness and flightiness that doesn’t feel as inviting as the genres that it’s naturally emulating. However, the true strength of this delivery comes when Norma enters the picture, as everything involving her backstory, her psychotic nature, her living standards, and her career (both in the heyday and in the bleak present), is where that tonal mixture highlights a cynical but still surreal hilarity to the industry as a whole, which is probably how Wilder, along with his fellow co-writers, Charles Brackett and D. M. Marshman Jr. view their place in the movie-making wheel. It goes at a good pace, the dialogue (whether humorous or serious) is well-worded and keeps you engaged, the actors are just the right amount of over-the-top but also feel believable due to their career dilemmas and struggles with feeling lost, and while it can contain a few choice cliches that feel pretty lame and even a little dated (the romance isn’t anything that great), most of the film is fairly timeless thanks to its humor and commentary,  and can be appreciated at any time in wildly different ways.

The film seems to talk a lot about the consequences of not adapting to the evolution of media, and how some people have either struggled to keep up with it, or just blindly ignored it for the sake of their own well-being. The various ways that people can be caught off guard by such a drastic shift is never fully elaborated on, but the tiny steps that do dissect it are noticeable, whether it’s through a writer who is willing to succumb to creating ‘’copy-paste’’ trite all for the means of earning a quick buck, an aspiring screenwriter who choose this specific avenue after pivoting from acting since they weren’t viewed as impressive enough, or an legendary figure who doesn’t want to face the unforeseen future and instead secludes themselves in the blissful immovable past, it does shine through in the right moments. Most of the acting has a hoaky quality to it that could’ve come across as poorly handled if the tone wasn’t tightly screwed in and the situation didn’t already carry a sense of theatricality to it. William Holden plays a relatively straightforward leading man of the era, but through Wilder’s directing and the slight ho-hum nature of his dialogue, he’s just quirky enough to feel a little out of place in a good way. The jovial quality to what should be a brow-beaten figure, keeps the role lively while not entirely ignoring his sullen mood when it’s relevant. Nancy Olson is also pretty good as the character of Betty, as while her conclusion is pretty weak and being stuck as the love interest is a little disappointing, her modern, spunky and stable nature allows for a nice contrast against the extravagant showiness of the rest of the film and its characters. There are also a few cameos from silent stars film stars, and while this normally would feel too overt and wacky for a straightforward thriller where this kind of in-joke might feel out of place, it’s not really an issue here, as seeing people like Cecil B. DeMille, Buster Keaton, Anna Q. Nilsson, H. B.  Warner, Hedda Hopper and even Erich von Stroheim as the more prominent character of Max, Norma’s butler who originally directed several of her films (which is what the real-life Stroheim did for Gloria Swanson, so another fun in-joke right there), are nice little touches that might go unnoticed if not further researched. The queen of the film is definitely Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond, as while the character could just be played as a cautionary tale that has no more meat on it, she is still allowed to be interesting and defined. She has a strong personality, her vanity and obsessiveness are played up to a ludicrous level, her delicate mannerism paired with her over-the-top facial movements highlight her silent acting roots in a fun way that was almost certainly an intentional homage, and while certainly hammy beyond belief, it is an incredibly gripping performance that can result in a few light winces but will most of the time results in genuine amusement.

Wilder’s vast array of experience within different genres gave him the ability to portray the various styles presented in this film in a pretty authentic manner, but he takes it to another level thanks to the film’s aforementioned comedic tone. A lot of the best visual components are usually whenever the film is in Norma’s house, as any time spent in the outside world is fairly uninteresting. The camera angles are fairly normal, the lighting can look a little too clean at times, and whether any of it was intentional positioned or not, it doesn’t feel like a lot of attention was put on it, so it’s hard to say. Once the film enters Norma’s world, things start to get more visually complicated and noticeably fun in a way that highlights the strengths of the production crew, but also results in some fun visual details for the movie in general. The entire mansion designed by set director, Hans Drier, has so much character and personality to it; the outside is a mangled mess with overgrown foliage and mossy stone walls, the inside is overly decadent to an almost painful degree, the ornaments and various knick-knacks feel like something out of an undisturbed tomb, and underneath the glamour and tidiness hides a cutting hollow emptiness that is pretty disturbing, especially when presented through some fun gothic angles handled by cinematographer John F. Seitz. Everything seems to be different when in this house, as the black-and-white pops much better, the shadows are more prominent, the camera work feels more purposeful and inventive rather than traditional and safe, even the audio seems a little more muffled to emulate the classic feel of an early 30s or 40s romance film, it’s pretty cool and feels led by a person who clearly knows and likes his film history. The musical score is also incredibly strong, with composer Franz Waxman, taking his experience from working on several Hollywood classics like Bride of Frankenstein, Rebecca, Rear Window, and Stalag 17, to create a piece that seems to contain similar sounds and instrumental cues of older films, but also multiple fresh additions that makes it feel wonderfully distinct. It is notable retro in may ways, yet contains the complex melodies and flavor of a more modern melody, it also feels pretty ahead of its time.

Much like the actress the film focuses on, Sunset Boulevard refused to fade into the background and in spite of being roughly 70 – 80 years old, hasn’t withered to the point that its message or its positive attributes no longer have merit. While it can stumble a few times due to some cliched moments, the performative cast, the strong scripting, the effective direction and the engrossing visual design, breathes such strong life into this idea, so much so that it is still being portrayed in other mediums and other stories with similarly unique deliveries. Considering it had enough staying power to survive in other spaces and since there will always be issues surrounding older talent in the entertainment industry that is worth discussing, it would be cool to see it explored from different viewpoints, but until then, this will be more than enough. Whether it’s on the stage or on the screen, this diva of a movie will not let you take your eyes off of it.