Sunset Boulevard, directed by Billy Wilder

It has always been a quest for individuals to achieve fame and success. In this day and age a community exists where many people have this intent to achieve this desire for attention and wealth. Hollywood can be interpreted as this mindset and life style. For those who succeed in this community of publicity seekers, include the usual benefits of success, wealth, power, influence and fame. But for the majority of people in Hollywood their quest for the luxuries of fame go awry. Hollywood to put plainly is a vulgar cut throat business, it is a dog eat dog world out there in Hollywood. For those who do not achieve their quest to be in the lime light, they often used, stabbed in the back and theoretically cast away in a dark rainy alley, like bag of garbage or a typical film-noire hero. Sunset Boulevard is a satisfyingly humorous film-noire film about the inner workings of the vicious “jungle”, that one would know of as Hollywood. It was perhaps the purposely over acted antics of antagonist Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), that makes Billy Wilder’s black comedy so memorable. Sunset Boulevard fits the definition of film-noire thanks to Wilder’s use of the typical film-noire style characters, the all too familiar storyline and Wilder’s visual style of the film itself.

The characters in Sunset Boulevard are excellent renditions of the film-noire style. Like in typical film-noire films, there are no heroes; there are not any characters of pure morals in Sunset Boulevard. Joe Gillis, (William Holden); the protagonist, is a typical main character that would stumble through a dismal film-noire story. Gillis is an individual who tried and toiled for the fame and riches and success in Hollywood, like the majority of individuals who soug...

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...rojects to the audience the aging of Norma. The lighting really exposes her lines and wrinkles, even as she declares that stars are ageless, the audience can plainly see what age has done to her. With this notion of lighting one could also come to the realization that Norma Desmond is no longer a star. In a way Norma is right about stars being ageless. If one thinks about it most stars are remembered when they are at the peak of their careers; when they are young. Up until Norma Desmond’s arrest, most people probably pictured the young star that dominated the silent film world. This is the Norma Desmond that Norma is under the delusion of still being, but due to the lighting in this frame; the audience can conclude that this is simply not the case. This use of high contrast lighting with dark shades and values make Sunset Boulevard a film-noire.