Sunset Boulevard was surprisingly interesting to me. I say surprising because when the movie first came on and I saw that it was a black and white from 1950, I expected a drab film with a boring plot line and cheesy acting, but what I got was different. Joe's snappy one liners and Norma's over the top dramatic acting was actually entertaining. I was interested in what was going to happen next.
The genre of the movie wasd film noir. I had never heard of that term before this class, but I had seen a film in this genre before. Actually, the day after we watched Sunset Boulevard I watched a modern film called Crash that had to do with racism. One of the main traits of film noir is that everyone in the story has a flaw and there are no heroes, and Crash was precisely that. One person would do something heroic for someone, then turn around and display evil in the next scene. Film noir gives the audience a very uncomfortable feeling...almost impatient. We've grown so accustomed to a resolution in stories and heroes defeating villians that there is something very unsettling yet intriuging about film noir. I love and hate Norma, find Joe charming yet cowardice and Max is just too twisted to discuss. I also thought it was really cool that the movie was done in black and white instead of color; it really added to the dreary and hazy feel of the movie.
The main motif of the movie was the separation of the two worlds. There was the inside of Norma's house and mind...beautiful, elegant and superior in quality. Then there was the outside world and the outside of Norma's house...free, but raggedy, social, but decaying. The scene where Joe goes to the New Year's party with the house full of people is a direct juxtaposition to the emptiness of Norma's house on New Year's. everyone is laughing, dancing and drunk, while Norma is content just being with Joe on a waxed dance floor in her rustic house. I was confused throughout the movie as to whether I should pity Norma, hate her or just find her annoying. This confusion is the essence of film noir.
Overall I really enjoyed the movie and especially the part of class afterwards when we analyzed it. I can tell by the time I'm out of this class I'll never leave a movie theatre in silence again.
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These are really interesting thoughts! I felt the exact same way about Norma throughout the entire movie. During some scenes, I thought she was far too dramatic and rather annoying. Then the next scene, I felt sorry for her on so many levels. I was constantly fighting with my emotions throughout the movie, which really pulled me into the plot. I was interested to see the outcome for all of the characters. It was a great movie!
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way when I found out it was an older, black and white movie as well. I have not seen many older movies simply because I felt that most of them would have content that pertains to people of that generation. But this movie, and several others I have seen, made me realize that they do not call famous movies from decades ago Classics for nothing. This movie definitely grabs your attention by opening with scenes of a murder and messing with your emotions as you watch the different actors perform.
ReplyDeleteI can remember a time when I thought older films were more likely to be boring, and b&w films were more likely to be boring, but it's been so long ago that I can no longer relate to feeling that way at all! When you think about it, there's no reason to suspect older or b&w movies to be less entertaining.
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