Wednesday, August 18, 2010

The Classic Film Sunset Blvd With Marlon Brando

By Cristina Adams

Sunset Blvd was produced in 1950 and tells the tale of an aging Hollywood star and her lost youth and career.

It was directed by Billy Wilder who made many other classic movies and its name provides the basis for its setting. The title is the famous Boulevard in Los Angeles and the playground of the rich and famous movie stars.

The movie stars William Holden as screenplay and down on his luck bum and Gloria Swanson is the faded, glamorous Norma Desmond who used to be a big star in the silent movie industry.

The plot centers around Holden in character as Joe Gillis, a young screenplay writer who is down on his luck. He owes money and has dreams of grandeur, which his pay check can not compete with. He meets Norma Desmond, a now aging star of the silent screen, and given his limited options he agrees to write a screenplay for her to relaunch her career.

Norma falls in love with Joe and Joe falls in love with her money and through this mutually convenient situation they coexist. He tries to leave eventually, but she attempts suicide and manages to coax him back.

She thinks that she can be a successful actress again, but the years have not been kind and she is trying to rise in an industry that rewards youth and beauty over everything else.

However, unbeknown to Norma he is working on a private script with young writer Betty and he falls for her. When he tries to leave Norma the dramatic climax of the film sees a shot fired and Gillis floating in a swimming pool with sirens all around.

Her last line, often quoted is "I'm ready for my close up" showing how her mentally unstable mind is likening the events to being in a film and distorting what is actually happening.

The movie is pretty tragic and its themes of aging, greed and fame are still very significant today. The film has a timeless quality and has relevant themes that many people will relate to.

She is a sad reminder of an industry that worships the young over everything else. This is particularly poignant in this day and age of cosmetic enhancement and shows how an individual can suffer once they lost their film making appeal.

Desmond has several maids and each are gentle with her and try to hide the fact that she has aged and grown out of touch with reality.

The film Sunset Blvd provides an insightful look at the film industry and shows how wealth, fortune and fame can corrupt and destroy. Desmond's mental illness culminating at the end with Gillis' death shows how power has corrupted and then destroyed each character in different ways.

Joe, her lover's untimely death, is sad and wasteful, but he represents the exploitative force behind Desmond's demise.

About the Author:

No comments:

Post a Comment