Sunset Boulevard - Movie Review

          'You're Norma Desmond. You used to be in silent pictures. You used to be big.'

                                 'I am big. It's the pictures that got small.'

To me, Billy Wilder's 'Sunset Boulevard' and it's fading protagonist, Norma Desmond, finds much of its essence in these memorable lines. The words are reflected in Norma herself, in the outdated, overdrawn makeup she wears and the ancient furs. They can be found resounding through the house itself, in it's gothic and decaying splendour - a home which, like it's owner, has now become a mere shadow of it's previous existence. For Gloria Swanson, the role of Norma Desmond must have been beyond difficult, beyond sensitive - she herself had been a world famous actress in her prime, the 1920s, and like many other silent stars, was all but forgotten with the emergence of the talkies, and later colour pictures. Many stars failed to debut in talkies, due to their nasal voices, or, like Norma, simply refused because they regarded talkies as a farce, an insult to the art form that they had so long glorified.

Perhaps Norma's words 'It's the pictures that got small' have more potency and less vanity than we might like to think. I often think what Norma or Gloria, for that matter, might think of movies today, where a narrative can be weak as long as there are special effects to gloss it over. In many ways, silent films and film noir, by their very limitation, possess an attraction that may be unachievable in the modern age. Many of my friends say to me that they cannot see the appeal of black and white films, protesting that they would work best in colour - but to me, the films would lose their very essence were this to happen. It is the grey and black shadows in 'Sunset Boulevard' that create the decaying, decrepit atmosphere, the screen behind which Norma desperately tries, and fails, to hide behind. They add an air of illusion, suspense and fear. They draw us in just as the young writer is drawn in inextricably to Norma's fatal web.

Gloria Swanson cemented her status as an actress of great stature in this film, perhaps because the film's topic was something she had not only researched, but lived through. Many of the lines she speaks are not merely reproduced, but clearly felt for the first time. Even her character's gestures are stagey, Norma's claw like hands begging her lover's return in a frightening imitation of a beautiful 1920s screen actress silently imploring her lover to remain faithful. Swanson perfectly captures the two sides to her character - on the one hand, we see a frightened, painfully lonely little girl, longing to be loved and appreciated again, whilst on the other hand we see a slightly vicious, positively frightening individual - a mask designed to cover up the hurt and injustices suffered. Paired with a soundtrack from Franz Waxman, and stellar performances from William Holden and Nancy Holden, as well as Erich von Stroheim, Sunset Boulevard is a heartbreaking and truly wonderful film not to be missed. 

   

Victoria x

N.B. I claim no rights to the images used in this post - all rights belong to the respective owners. I obtained the photos from Flickr under a Creative Commons license. 

Film Review - On The Waterfront

'You don't understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let's face it. ' -Terry Malloy

Recently I watched 'On the Waterfront', a film directed by Elia Kazan and starring a very young Marlon Brando, as well as Eva Marie Saint, who also starred in films such as Alfred Hitchcock's 'North by Northwest.' I really loved this film, and it's one of those pictures that you can watch again and again without getting bored of it, because you see something new each time - a different side to a character, or an interaction you previously didn't notice, something as small as Saint's character, Edie, refusing a piece of gum. I think this is due in a large part to the genius of Elia Kazan, and the careful training that Brando and Saint both received from the Actors Studio, which advocated extreme attention to detail in order to build a believable overall story. To me, actors like Brando and Saint prove what can truly be achieved with the notorious and often misunderstood 'method' - immersion in their characters, but this immersion being a very thought through (and yet natural) process.

I think a lot of the appeal of this film rests in the juxtapositions it presents. On the one hand there is the dangerous and rough tale of the murder of Edie's brother, against the harsh background of the dock workers and the mafia, whilst the audience are also presented with a startling love story between the two protagonists, Edie and Terry Malloy. Terry, Brando's character, is an ex-boxer, and played a part in the murder of Edie's brother, though not actively committing the crime himself. The two lovers therefore seem like an unlikely pairing, particularly because Saint's character is so reserved - she attends a convent school - whereas Brando's character is full of raw power and violence. But perhaps this is why it works so well - the gentleness of Saint's character brings out the vulnerability in Terry, an exposing which is really interesting for the audience to witness, whilst Terry encourages Edie to stand up for herself, to learn to take life a little less seriously. The two characters also knew each other in childhood, and only re - kindle their acquaintance through the murder of Edie's brother Joey; evidently still very different in childhood, Edie had braces and straw-like hair, with Terry getting into fights with teachers - as Terry tells her 'You grew up nice'.

Although moments like these are only ever spoken of, it is testament to the well-written script and Kazan's skill that these memories and conjured in our own heads, without being presented visually, yet are still potent. It is also these memories and tension that leads to such an effective relationship dynamic. Reportedly, when Kazan was casting the film, he asked Eva Marie and Marlon to improvise a scene together, to see if they had any chemistry. According to Saint, 'the sparks just flew' and this is something clearly evident between Brando and Saint in 'On the Waterfront'.

Karl Marden also gives an extremely effective performance as the vicar in the film, who is willing to help the dock workers get the work they deserve, and he explores his character's struggle to remain faithful to his principles whilst simultaneously challenging them vey effectively.

Overall, it is easy to see why 'On the Waterfront' received so much critical acclaim, with such wonderful and sensitive performances, which to me prove the real worth of acting as a profession, something which can convey truths about the world and human nature quietly yet decisively. I hope you enjoyed this post, I will be reviewing more films soon.

Marlon Brando by Philippe Halsman, 1950. 

Victoria x

N.B. I claim no credit for the images used in this post. I found them on flickr under a Creative Commons license, and all rights belong to those who owned the pictures originally.