Sunset Boulevard
had to take a break from the cinema due to having $4 to my name but I had to catch Sunset Boulevard on the big screen. an all time classic and one of my favorite assigned watches during film school. I haven’t seen it in years but always remembered it fondly. returning to it now, it hits harder than ever. I’ve lived a lot of life since I first watched this movie. what were once “good performances” to me are now permanently connected to me on a spiritual level.
Sunset Boulevard is a yearner’s movie through and through. every one of our major players wants something they don’t have. Gillis wants to get out, whether it be the trap of Desmond’s Mansion, or just the financial and creative rut he’s been in. Betty wants to really make it in Hollywood, Max wants to see Norma regain everything she’s lost, and Norma Desmond wants more than anyone maybe ever has wanted anything, and also wants so much things in general: her old life, her beauty, the screen, the fans, love, respect, admiration, control, validation, to stick it to the people who wronged her; she’s grasping at anything and everything to be more than a dusty relic.
this isn’t an aspect unique to Sunset Boulevard, I could probably name a thousand movies where a character wants something really badly, but it’s the execution of it all that makes it so special. Sunset Boulevard is a larger than life tale about Hollywood, the place where magic happens, and yet under all that glitz and glamor, past the clever dialogue, pretty camerawork, and beautiful sets, if you really look at what’s happening in the film, it’s about a few sad, miserable people (besides Betty) coming to terms with the fact that life is passing them by. it’s this aspect that Sunset Boulevard nails.
if there is one feeling that has defined my adult life, its that constant yearning. whether it be the dozens of job rejection emails that dominate my email, seeing everyone around me fall in love, only ever being considered romantically as a rebound, a convenient prop vs a thinking breathing person, sitting at a blank screenplay for hours because I can’t write like I used to, watching the days pass by on the calendar as the romanticized vision of working in Hollywood that I’ve had since I was 6 years old slowly becomes less and less likely, never feeling at home anywhere I’ve slept in 5 years, maladaptive daydreams running through my head on a 24/7 loop because my day to day is never what I want it to be, being bombarded with an all encompassing news feed of tragedies and just wanting to hear something good for once.
I trauma dumped too long, back to the movie. I gotta spend some time talking about Norma Desmond. what a character. you could easily just write her off as a vain crazy lady but there’s so many layers to her. an avatar of insecurity that peacocks and postures with a grandiose nature unrivaled, she moves and speaks with the exaggerated bravado that dominated the silent era of film, a performance style no one else in the movie is doing. it sets her apart and makes perfect sense given her background, and yet it feels just as much a performance for herself as it is audience and the rest of the characters. she’s chronically draped in riches just as she’s chronically suicidal, in the happiest time she’s had in years she has multiple cosmetic surgeries and buys a gun, before Gillis enters the picture her only company is her ex husband and the wax figures, she’s incredibly sharp and witty in conversation despite being apparently being aloof enough to not realize she’s no longer hot shit, it’s a masterful combination of Bill Wilder’s creative vision and Gloria Swanson’s perfect performance. one of the greatest characters in all of cinema.
the rest of the cast is also fantastic. the writing is top notch, full of double entendre. the score is classic. it’s a damn near perfect film that was ahead of its time when it came out, has been essential viewing for 75 years, and will continue to be essential for another 75 years.