Billy Wilder’s multi award
winning The Lost Weekend was one of
the first movies to tackle the pull of alcohol head on. The fantastic script
details four days in the life of long time alcoholic Don Birnam (Ray Milland)
who despite his best intentions to stay sober, ends up down an ever spiralling
path of addiction. The winner of four Oscars and nominated for three more on
top, The Lost Weekend was one of
Wilder’s most lauded films and has lost little of its potency in the near
seventy years since its release. Opening in the apartment which Birnam shares
with his long suffering and devoted bother, Wick Birnam (Phillip Terry) is
attempting to get his brother out of the city and away from the temptation of
liquor for a few days. He hopes that the cold turkey approach will aid in his
brother’s recovery and allow him the time and clear head to write – a career
which Don attributes to himself with little evidence of success.
This first scene displays Don’s
dependency through the use of the first of several hidden bottles of rye.
Whilst packing, Don tries to slip into his case a bottle which he has attached
to a rope swinging outside his window. This, unlike many other bottles is soon
discovered but Don still manages to wriggle out of the booze free break and
instead settles in for a weekend of petty criminality and hard drinking. Don’s
first act of cruelty in the pursuit of his fix is to steal the $10 which his
brother has left for the housekeeper. He lies to her that the money (her wage)
isn’t waiting for her and purchases two bottles before heading to the bar for a
drink. The look on Don’s face when he is presented with the short glass of
light brown liquid tells us all we need to know about his addition. He’s like a
child of Christmas Day, eager, excited, unable to wait. The first drink is
downed and swiftly followed by several more.
The film struck me for its brutal
and honest depiction of addiction and its no nonsense approach to
story-telling. Except where necessary for censorship, the picture tells it as
it is. It shows the desperation and the thought process behind the character’s
need for a drink. The central character is a sympathetic one but he’s shown to
carry out illicit, unsavoury and illegal deeds. The purse stealing scene for
instance shows the character’s duplicity perhaps more than any other. He knows
what he’s doing is wrong but he can’t help himself. To him, the drink is as
oxygen to the rest of us. He has to have it. The flower which he slips into the
bag as a payment or perhaps an apology sums up the idea that the real Don, the
sober Don is somewhere inside, battling to reach the surface.
Throughout the movie several
people attempt to come to the aid of the alcoholic lead character. His brother,
exacerbated at the effort leaves for the weekend but is replaced by Don’s girl
Helen St. James (Jane Wyman). Helen is sensitive and attentive but spends vast
swathes of the film being walked over, on the back foot against Don’s
addiction. Nat (Howard Da Silva) of Nat’s Bar is a man used to Don’s habits who
tries gently to say no but realises that the man will drink somewhere so it
might as well be in his bar. It’s Nat who’s responsible for the film’s best
line, a defining statement of alcoholism, “One’s too many and a hundred’s not
enough”. Nurse Bim (Frank Faylen) is a man who once cared for his patients but
lost that ability long ago. He’s seen men come and go and then come again and
has little respect for the men under his care.
Perhaps the most intriguing
character of all is that of Gloria (Doris Dowling). Although quite obviously a
prostitute, her profession is never stated in order to avoid falling foul of
the Motion Picture Code. Like Don she is lost, paddling against the tide of
acceptability. It’s unsurprising then that she connects with the principle
character, a bond which he uses to his advantage but rarely reciprocates.
Personally I’d have liked to have seen more from Gloria in order to understand
more about her. She’s an enigma who floats in and out of the story. Her use of
language is highly entertaining and perhaps ahead of its time. Gloria uses what
Don refers to as “ghastly abbreviations” but her “natch” (naturally) and
“ridic” (ridiculous) give her a sense of realism which is captured in much of
the surrounding film though the writing and cinematography.
While not an out and out noir
like Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard or Double Indemnity, The Lost Weekend exhibits many of the tropes you come to associate
with the genre. As well as a film about addiction, it is also about deceit
while the lighting typifies what one would expect from a film noir. Although
lacking venetian blinds and heavy shadows, it’s lit in such away as to express
pretence, anguish and wanton disregard for those around you. On top of this,
the film popularised the ‘character walking towards the camera as neon signs
pass by’ camera effect. This occurs during a brilliant scene which at the same
time feels both neo-realist and expressionistic. Don follows the camera down Third Avenue,
desperate to hock his typewriter. The further he walks, the more dishevelled
and wearisome he becomes. He’s like a man appearing from a desert, in need of
water only his desert is poverty and his water is 40% alcohol.
The movie features a score which
while unusual, worked perfectly. It’s an early example of a movie score
featuring a Theremin. The instrument, more commonly associated with Science
Fiction of the 1950s is like a Siren’s call, the whiskey literally calling out
to its victim, urging him on to join it on the rocks. The score can be a little
obvious at times but this is rarely an issue. In conjunction with the visuals
and plot, it creates a real urgency to Don’s actions.
The acting on the whole is
exemplary. Ray Milland won an Oscar for his efforts although in later life,
Writer/Director Billy Wilder attributed his victory to the character rather
than acting. Either way, Milland plays the perfect drunk. He’s lucid and
confident to a point before falling over the edge into drunkenness. His
despondency is well acted and I thoroughly bought into his role. Likewise Doris
Dowling and Howard Da Silva are believable and highly watchable. Unfortunately
Helen St. James comes off as a little needy and unrealistic although I think
this has a lot to do with the character and little to do with the actress.
The Lost Weekend is a film which I can highly recommend. It doesn’t
show its age and remains fresh in its depiction of addiction. It’s themes
resonate through the decades and it not only features a terrific script packed
full of trademark Billy Wilder dialogue but it looks and sounds fantastic too.
It draws you in like the drink does to its central character but spits you out
with an understanding of the addiction and a desire to avoid it yourself. The
film was rightly named Best Picture at the 18th Academy Awards and
in doing so became the first film to win both that award and The Grand Prix at Cannes.
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