Oscar Winner:
It's really easy to overlook how great a movie The Apartment is. It's not flashy, nor in your face. It's this subtleness that makes it such a great film. Whitney and I's favorite type of movies to watch are dramadies. Those movies that could either be a drama or a comedy. At their core, the dramatic stakes are high, but there is a slice of life that makes the conflicts bearable… even entertaining. The Apartment's genius lies in its ability to focus on the characters and forget all the surrounding elements around it.
Set in a New York work environment that is now familiar because of the popularity of Mad Men on television, C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) is a goofy, yet charming man, who is willing to do whatever he can to get to the top of his insurance company. That doesn't mean backstabbing his co-workers or being cutthroat, but lending his apartment to the top dogs in the company to use for their extramarital affairs. This in itself becomes a full time job as he constantly juggles the vacancy of his apartment with little promises fulfilled by his bosses. Baxter finally gets his big break when the president of the company (Fred MacMurray) wants in on Baxter's hobby. As this event causes things to finally go right in Baxter's life, as well as a budding romance with the elevator girl (Shirley MacLaine), it also causes a mess of a love triangle that is not even close to being worth the price of success.
The Apartment is about 50 years old now, but its relevancy is still so strong. The film proves that the themes of pride and the emptiness of the desire for personal and material wealth never go away. If one was able to suspend thoughts of current affairs, this film could be released for the first time today and still have just as a big of an impact as it did in 1960. This film speaks frankly about sex, affairs, and suicide, which I'm sure was a shocker for filmgoers in the 60’s, but it's amazing how things really aren't that different now than 50 years ago. People still fall in that trap that money and success can bring happiness, and I can't think of any other film that instills this idea better than this one. The world that is presented here is full of faulted people with false ideals, and that is not unlike any other day in the American life.
It's fun to see a film on this list that isn't so flashy or has some kind of gimmick to prove its brilliance. It's just great storytelling, pure and simple. The director, Billy Wilder, is one of the most admired directors to come out of Hollywood. Based on this film alone, I think there are three reasons for this. One, he knows how to cast. The acting in this film is brilliant, no matter how small or big the role is. Jack Lemmon is personally one of my favorite actors to watch and he is perfect playing a character who is extremely lovable, but so very disillusioned. Two, he lets the story be the main star of the movie, not all the other elements of film. Don't get me wrong, cinematography and set design is crucial to a film's success, but if I'm not engaged in the story, I'm done with the film. And last, Wilder is brilliant at piecing together a film. No scene is wasted. Everything that is shown or said is there for a reason and enhances the film experience. I never was distracted, nor bored. How could a film not be labeled as great?
Like a good wine, The Apartment will just get better over time. During this present economic crisis, I can't think of a better example than this film to explain why people get greedy and do the things that they do. Most importantly, this film is both fun and has substance, and I would recommend it to just about anybody.
I give The Apartment 5 out of 5 card games.
* Oh yeah, and it has probably one of the best closing lines to a movie ever.
Set in a New York work environment that is now familiar because of the popularity of Mad Men on television, C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) is a goofy, yet charming man, who is willing to do whatever he can to get to the top of his insurance company. That doesn't mean backstabbing his co-workers or being cutthroat, but lending his apartment to the top dogs in the company to use for their extramarital affairs. This in itself becomes a full time job as he constantly juggles the vacancy of his apartment with little promises fulfilled by his bosses. Baxter finally gets his big break when the president of the company (Fred MacMurray) wants in on Baxter's hobby. As this event causes things to finally go right in Baxter's life, as well as a budding romance with the elevator girl (Shirley MacLaine), it also causes a mess of a love triangle that is not even close to being worth the price of success.
The Apartment is about 50 years old now, but its relevancy is still so strong. The film proves that the themes of pride and the emptiness of the desire for personal and material wealth never go away. If one was able to suspend thoughts of current affairs, this film could be released for the first time today and still have just as a big of an impact as it did in 1960. This film speaks frankly about sex, affairs, and suicide, which I'm sure was a shocker for filmgoers in the 60’s, but it's amazing how things really aren't that different now than 50 years ago. People still fall in that trap that money and success can bring happiness, and I can't think of any other film that instills this idea better than this one. The world that is presented here is full of faulted people with false ideals, and that is not unlike any other day in the American life.
It's fun to see a film on this list that isn't so flashy or has some kind of gimmick to prove its brilliance. It's just great storytelling, pure and simple. The director, Billy Wilder, is one of the most admired directors to come out of Hollywood. Based on this film alone, I think there are three reasons for this. One, he knows how to cast. The acting in this film is brilliant, no matter how small or big the role is. Jack Lemmon is personally one of my favorite actors to watch and he is perfect playing a character who is extremely lovable, but so very disillusioned. Two, he lets the story be the main star of the movie, not all the other elements of film. Don't get me wrong, cinematography and set design is crucial to a film's success, but if I'm not engaged in the story, I'm done with the film. And last, Wilder is brilliant at piecing together a film. No scene is wasted. Everything that is shown or said is there for a reason and enhances the film experience. I never was distracted, nor bored. How could a film not be labeled as great?
Like a good wine, The Apartment will just get better over time. During this present economic crisis, I can't think of a better example than this film to explain why people get greedy and do the things that they do. Most importantly, this film is both fun and has substance, and I would recommend it to just about anybody.
I give The Apartment 5 out of 5 card games.
* Oh yeah, and it has probably one of the best closing lines to a movie ever.
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