Billy Wilder is a really swell guy. He takes serious matter and makes it entertaining: Sunset Blvd. blew me away, and now The Apartment has put a big smile on my face. Wilder injects this uppity- atmosphere into almost every scene and it makes the film a pleasure to watch, no matter how serious the plot gets. And behind the charm of Lemmon's C.C. Baxter, there is a serious plot.
The Apartment is about Baxter, a New York business cog, trying to move up in his company not through hard work, or extra socializing, or self- pitching, but by lending his apartment to his coworkers' extra-martial affairs. Being a 60's film, this cannot be said directly, but the hinting is so strong you pick up instantly. The film is quite liberal, content-wise. The film shows that blackmail goes both ways: Baxter may believe he has the upper hand, with his clients on a string... but he does not, and he sinks deeper into his lie. Of course it comes across humorously, with his neighbours scolding him for his 'sexpot' antics, though the good doctor would also like if his body could be donated to science.
Baxter is quite a character, an innocent everyman with his own set of faults and quirks. Lemmon is magnetic: we always root for Lemmon, even as he tells pitiful lies to his landlady and can't stand up to his clients. Even his borderline creepy knowledge of Ms. Kubelik comes off as just charm. An immensely likable character.
The object of his affection, Fran Kubelik, is also quite a charmer. Her problem is men, but she knows it. She doesn't fake innocence. We have all known that flirty girl who ends up on your nerves... but Fran isn't that girl. Wilder knows just how to handle his characters.
Now, more than 50 years after its release, trying to look at The Apartment academically is strange, because its era has passed. Things like that don't happen any more. Right? Perhaps not as specifically, but the cost of power is a universal theme. What do you sacrifice to try and get ahead? Property, dignity, even your love? C.C. Baxter knows how much he'll give, but also what he won't. The film ends positively, which is nice, and deserving, especially after seeing Sunset Blvd. The Apartment is wonderful, sharply written and performed, and makes a great evening. 8.9/10
The Apartment is about Baxter, a New York business cog, trying to move up in his company not through hard work, or extra socializing, or self- pitching, but by lending his apartment to his coworkers' extra-martial affairs. Being a 60's film, this cannot be said directly, but the hinting is so strong you pick up instantly. The film is quite liberal, content-wise. The film shows that blackmail goes both ways: Baxter may believe he has the upper hand, with his clients on a string... but he does not, and he sinks deeper into his lie. Of course it comes across humorously, with his neighbours scolding him for his 'sexpot' antics, though the good doctor would also like if his body could be donated to science.
Baxter is quite a character, an innocent everyman with his own set of faults and quirks. Lemmon is magnetic: we always root for Lemmon, even as he tells pitiful lies to his landlady and can't stand up to his clients. Even his borderline creepy knowledge of Ms. Kubelik comes off as just charm. An immensely likable character.
The object of his affection, Fran Kubelik, is also quite a charmer. Her problem is men, but she knows it. She doesn't fake innocence. We have all known that flirty girl who ends up on your nerves... but Fran isn't that girl. Wilder knows just how to handle his characters.
Now, more than 50 years after its release, trying to look at The Apartment academically is strange, because its era has passed. Things like that don't happen any more. Right? Perhaps not as specifically, but the cost of power is a universal theme. What do you sacrifice to try and get ahead? Property, dignity, even your love? C.C. Baxter knows how much he'll give, but also what he won't. The film ends positively, which is nice, and deserving, especially after seeing Sunset Blvd. The Apartment is wonderful, sharply written and performed, and makes a great evening. 8.9/10