Joe had talent. later he wanted to eat. now he's dead.
he shows up when the monkey dies. He hates himself. when he spurns the writer gal it might be a noble gesture. I think he just doesn't feel he deserves her.
Norma hasn't lived in the real world for years and she'll never do so again. Max is standing by to play his part when he's needed. he's probably loved her for many of the reasons she loves herself and for nearly as long.
Norma visits the set. she is even more of a museum piece than her car. there's something touching about "the little people" remembering her but, on the other hand, it's as though they are surprised that she still exists. at any rate, it's startling that she still exists as they knew her. Norma, in her mind, is still at the top of her game. it's her game. who are we to argue? she's ready for her close up.
I think this is Brackett and Wilders last film together. I think they had a synergy. It's all guesswork when you imagine who brought what to the partnership but I think Wilder's bleak view was softened by Brackett. it may seem strange to think of this as a soft vision - it's not. I do think that Joe and Max and even Norma are sympathetic up to a point.
many talented writers went to Hollywood and found they had no belly for it. many found solace in drink. Joe found Norma.
I love all the movies that have been referenced in the thread but I think comparing those other showbiz films to SB is like comparing war movies to Dr. Strangelove. there are many very fine war movies. I'm not saying that Strangelove is better only that it is it's own thing - something powerful and stylized. I feel the same way about this one.
in some of those other movies it is the love of making movies or the love of theatre that provides some grounding for what happens. SB doesn't do that. these people are part of the debris that the movie industry has left behind. even joe and his talent are not really a going concern. he is too eager for things to happen to him easily - to have it handed to him - to be Norma's new monkey.
you don't really have a lot of sympathy for Joe face down in the pool because he doesn't have a whole lot of sympathy for himself. his demise becomes Norma's triumph - the one she's waited for. she's not going to miss it anymore than joe missed getting the best shirts.
these aren't characters to admire and identify with. Norma doesn't hate joe but she kills him. Joe probably loves the writer gal but he's prepared to never see her again. Max never expects Norma to return his affections - he is at her beck and call. these people aren't winners but I think they are interesting and fascinating people.
the movie ends with Norma, far beyond her prime, seducing us to join her in the dark where we'll be with her always. this is Norma's happy ending but even though it feels weird to us, I think on some level, she wins me over. movies are marvelous one way or the other.
I think 'sunset boulevard' is one of the very best movies I've ever seen. Much of the reason is Swanson. I think her performance is amazing. she often fills the frame like Godzilla. this is what this movie needs - what this movie is about. they needed actors like that once. they don't need them anymore. Norma needs us! the people in the dark! how happy we'll be together.
our supposed hero is dead face down in a swimming pool. our supposed villian has gone mad. thanks to the magic of movies - the soft lenses and so on, we
share her madness. fuck! what a movie! I think it's
brilliant!