The Apartment
Made: 1960
Cast: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Jack Kruschen
Screenplay: Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond
Cinematographer: Joseph Lashelle
Producer: Billy Wilder
The Apartment is a story of loneliness, and the minor miracle it pulls of is it's lead character's transformation. C.C. Baxter, played with aplomb by Jack Lemmon, does not merely change or learn a lesson in this movie; he becomes a different person. It is a study of a normal person who is battered down by the world, a despicable person who doesn't mind selling out his apartment to his superiors who can have affairs there so their wives won't know any better. How does a person become like this, so beaten down by his place in the world so that his morals and very place of being become compromised, so taken over by his job that he can no longer get into his own bed for sleep? This movie was a wake up call to the beginning of the 1960's, and what's amazing is that it has not dated one bit.
The story of The Apartment is one that resonates with people still, because it is told in a way that brings people along with it. Billy Wilder's sweeping way of telling a story has never really been equaled, and a loser like Baxter is so easily charismatic that is never a struggle to follow. Nothing really goes right in Baxter's world: he is terrorized at work with schedules, terrorized at home by constant guests, and his only hope at a love life is the elavator girl that won't give him the time of day; also at work. The movie opens with a shot of New York City from the skyline and a date and time given to the specific time and place: November 1, 1959. The view of office life is one of King Vidor's The Crowd (1928), a cog in the system or a tiny speck on planet earth, what does what Baxter do in life that matters? He gets sick standing outside his Apartment, waiting for one of his bosses to finish his affair so he can go sleep! One of the funnier early scenes involves Baxter juggling his apartment schedule at work, so that he can have a night off to recover from flu. Baxter just can't seem to win.
Sitting alone in his Apartment, Baxter eats chicken wings and tv dinners, and watches tv but can't stand commercials. This is Jack Lemmon's breakout role, and while he had had great roles prior to this (Some Like It Hot and Mr. Roberts), this one simultaneously shows off his comic timing and his deep compassion for people. His later great movie roles, like in Glengarry Glenross (1992), The Odd Couple (1968), and Missing (1981), would not be possible without this. Eventually one of the girls his boss Mr. Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray) brings to his apartment is Ms. Kubelik (Shirley Maclaine), Baxter's elevator girl crush. Both of these roles are eloquently played, MacLaine giving her first real screen performance and MacMurray giving one of the better "jerk" performances in cinema history. MacLaine's role is not one that is easy to play: she has to be tough as nails at first, but then around Sheldrake she has to be vulnerable and heartbroken. Later in the film, she is to be driven to the point of suicide, in a scene which is unforgettable and cutting edge for its time. Her and Baxter are kindred spirits, and it is very interesting to watch them slowly realize it (it is almost painful). Sheldrake is a special kind of monster, a portrayal of a man who just will never see why he is a scumbag. "You take a woman out a couple of times and they expect you to leave your wife! That's just not fair is it?" Of course the supporting roles give the movie a real life: the nosy neighbor that listens to the apartment noises and thinks Baxter is a playboy (Jack Krushchen), the office bosses that promise Baxter a promotion (David Lews, Ray Walston, and David White) and Ms. Olsen the secretary for Mr Sheldrake that used to be his off again/on again lover (Edie Adams).
The Screenplay is one of the more memorable and quotable in movie history: "promotion-wise", "efficiency-wise", "Cookie-wise", and everything "-wise" as well as the line "shut up and deal" that closes the picture. It was written by I.A.L. Diamond and director Billy wilder, and their paring renders a great balance of humor, romance and tragedy. The Apartment is viewed by many as one of the first movie to blend genres: it is a satiric comedy/romance/drama. I have looked many times for it at video rental stores and it is always in a different place. It is not that it is the first movie to do, well, anything first, which is a common misconception. The key word is blend; it blends elements of everyday life into greatness and makes C.C. Baxter a mythological figure. It also is precise in the details of the apartment; in the DVD extra features it is shown how every detail from tv trays to tablecloths to liquor brands were handpicked by Wilder. People come to the apartment all the time and find odd clothing in the strangest places. Wilder was a screenwriter in the 1930's before he became a director, but he got tired of his story details being changed. His demand for perfection is common among genius people who know how to get exactly what they want.
Billy Wilder is the most accessible great director there ever was, except for perhaps Alfred Hitchcock. Since Hitch was not really a screenwriter, Wilder is probably the cinema's greatest writer/director. He made movies that everybody loves (Sabrina, Some Like it Hot, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Stalag 17, to name but a few) but layered them with subversive comments on the world in which we live. Most people that love him call him a cynic, but I've never gotten that kind of negative vibe from Wilder's movies. Even with dirges like Sunset Blvd, Lost Weekend, and Ace in the Hole there is a sly wink at the end. Not only do his movies hold up and not seem dated, they can really be about any subject at all and still seem to be easy. He doesn't like weird camera angles or distracting trick shots that distract from his stories, but you don't think about these things when watching his movies anyway. His direction is invisible, which is a style of its own. The way I like to put it is he lets his stories "breathe". I honestly can't think of a Billy Wilder picture I don't at least enjoy, and most of them I love to death! The Apartment is my favorite of them all.
The Apartment strikes an odd chord for the beginning of the 1960's. Wilder wanted to film it before but if was far too sensitive a subject for the 40's and 50's. It is filmed in black and white, which is not unheard of for over 50 years ago but it is not the typical artistic choice. Most big budget studio movies were in color in the 60's, so black and white was reserved for either movies with no budget or art films/foreign films. The Apartment is not an art film, at least not on the surface. It is a mainstream movie with great acting, great story, and great screenplay. However, it creeps in its actual messages buried not-so-far beneath the surface. It is subversive toward commercialism: Baxter hates tv commercials and goes out of his way to not watch them; it is subversive toward living life as a mindless work drone: everything in the office is laid out in phone calls, holiday parties, and empty tiny offices and the elevators are always overcrowded; it is subversive for people that won't change or refuse to change, even when the life they lead is empty and awful. Look at how Ms. Olsen basically gets herself fired by telling Kubelik that he has a no-good player. It was just the push she needed to get over him, but she did it to herself. And this is a minor character detail! I could write a book on the details and intricacies of The Apartment, and it's only 2 hours long. As much as this review may contain some, well, depressing storylines, it is really a joy to watch this movie. There is more going on and it is presented in a more entertaining fashion than 99% of all other tv shows and movies ever made. The Apartment is the definition of a Movie Masterpiece, and it is perhaps the greatest movie ever made. It's definitely in my personal top 10 movies.