Sunset Blvd. It is a slightly depressing story of a delusional silent movie star who has fallen from the top. The “talkies” had taken over Hollywood and Hollywood left her behind. But to Norma Desmond she was still big “it’s the pictures that got small”.
She refuses to recognize the state of her career. In class we were discussing the themes the movie represented. There was a lot of talk about the film showing how tough the movie business is, but to me the main theme was about disregarding reality and living in the past. Norma was so lost in her own world that she had no sense of what was real. She was the star of her own private show. This film revealed the dangers of denying reality. If you do, you’ll be crazy like Norma.
In addition, the people who supported Norma’s delusions were living in a false reality themselves. They went to great lengths to protect a woman from the truth when the truth is exactly what she needed. For example, Joe and Max played along with her charade and, in turn, became a part of it. In a house with no locks, they were trapped, feeding her sickness. Norma made sure of this because “no-one leaves a star.” There leaving would be proof of how far she had fallen. As Joe puts it, she was a sleepwalker, and you can’t wake a sleepwalker because they may hurt themselves. The people in her life walked on eggshells so that she wouldn’t have to face reality. The few times she was forced to see reality, Norma tried to kill herself. The saddest part of this is that if she were to commit suicide she would have few mourners. Her fans had left her.
In the end, Norma truly lost it. She was trapped just as Joe and Max were. But she finally got her moment in front of the camera, even if it was for the news and she was heading to the psych-ward. Overall, I enjoyed the movie. It was the first film noir movie I had seen. I am not one to like older films, but this one surprised me. I think it was the eccentric characters (Norma especially). This film had opened my mind to older films. I see the quality in these movies and am now inspired to watch some other older, classic films.
I agree that the movies theme was disregarding reality and living in the past. I think this is a major problem for a lot of people, especially our age. I occasionally talk about when I played high school football or other high school activities when they fit conversation. But some of my friends from high school have never left. They attend every high school game even into their mid twenties. They sit there and talk about the glory days and then buy the alcohol for the high school party thereafter. These people have never left high school. The reality is that it is time for them to grow up and go out on their own. But unfortunately, they just can't quit get out of their past lives.
ReplyDeleteI like how you pointed out that the mansion had no locks but the people closest to Norma still felt trapped. I thought that was a strong message; it's really ironic how they were not physically trapped but were unable to leave Norma.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you about being more open to older movies. A lot of people are taken back by the black and white and the lesser picture quality of older movies, and I used to think the same way. But this movie definitely changed my opinion.
Why would you not like older films? What about "older" translates into "something Lennon wouldn't enjoy"? (Not a slam, a serious question.)
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