Film Analysis of Sunset Boulevard

Synopsis

Sunset Boulevard (Wilder, B. 1950) is one of the films that consider as film noir. This story set in '50s Hollywood and the film industry during that time is more advances which sound or audio is coming in with the motion picture. The story begins with a scriptwritter named Joe Gilles (William Holden) and he try to run away from two guys who want to take his car back because of his debt. When Joe chasing by the two guys and he is driving in the road called Sunset Boulevard, his car's tyre puncture. He drives his car into a garage of a mansion which looks like abandoned house. A woman named Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) makes a mistake and thinks that he is an undertaker who is bury her chimpanzee. Norma Desmond is a big star and she is very famous during silent film era. Besides that, she is also very rich and she owns a mansion that has a build in swimming pool and tennis court. After that, Norma finds out that Joe actually is a scriptwritter and she wants Joe to help her edit the script that wroten by her. Norma also tries to ask Joe to stay and not let him leave her mansion. Max (Erich von Stroheim), a butler who is very loyal to Norma and always protects her. Max is also a former director of silent film and ex-husband of Norma. The next day, Joe's belongings are moved into Norma's house and living together with Norma. At the beginning, Joe is refuses to everything that given by Norma, but as time goes by; Joe starts to accept it which include clothes, cigaratte case, and money. A girl named Betty Schaefer (Nancy Olson) who is a newbie in scriptwriting and her dreams is to come out a serious script and become a famous scriptwriter. Joe is working with Betty to write the script together and start to sneak out from Norma's house every night. Norma finds out that Joe and Betty are getting together, she is jealous and wants stop Betty getting near with Joe. Joe sees what Norma does and he is very angry. He decides to put down all the luxuries that given by Norma and leave her. Norma become insane and take out a gun, shoot on Joe. Joe falls into the swimming pool and dead.

Characteristics in Sunset Boulevard

In the beginning of Sunset Boulevard, there are police cars approaching to a mansion and there a dead body in a swimming pool. The dead body creates an investigative approach for the audiences within the film. It lets the audiences questions that "How did he die?", "Who is the man?" and "Why he die in the swimming pool?" 

Sunset Boulevard (Wilder, B. 1950)

The narrative of film noirs are usually characterized as complex - often confusing – and as frequently entailing the use of flashback and first-person voice-over narration. As we can see from this film, there is a narrator takes the audiences back to past six months to reveal the reason why the man dies in the swimming pool. Actually the narrator is the dead man in the swimming pool which is Joe Gilles. He is telling his own story and describes how he dies. Apart from that, he also tells this story of entrapment, greed, and deceit while dead. He is the one who leads the audiences to reveal the truth of the incident.

The visual of a film is very important to define the film. So, let us look at the characteristics of visual in Sunset Boulevard. Sunset Boulevard uses a lot of high-contrast lighting which also known as low key lighting, for example, in Norma's house, the lighting are low key and because of this lighting, it creates dark shadows which is also one of the characteristic of film noir.

 Sunset Boulevard (Wilder, B. 1950)

Another example will be in the garage, when Joe realizes that Max is following and waiting him to come back from outside, the high-contrast lighting apply in that scene and the shadow is cover almost half of Max's face which to show that his dark side.

Sunset Boulevard (Wilder, B. 1950)

Besides the lighting and shadow, the setting of the film is also one of the characteristic of film noir. The living room where Norma is dancing to entertain Joe, bedroom of Norma and Joe, ballroom where Norma is dancing with Joe during New Year Eve and the place where Norma write her script, all of these space are dimly-lit interiors and very congested. The lighting and the setting is to show the character is suffocating in their life. 

Sunset Boulevard (Wilder, B. 1950)

The costume of Norma Desmond in the film is always in dark color such as black, the color of her costume to show that she is a femme fatale in Sunset Boulevard. The film also contains some German-expressionistic element such as the oblique vertical and horizontal line, for example in Norma's house; we can see a lot of lines which are in oblique vertical and horizontal line.

Sunset Boulevard (Wilder, B. 1950)

We can see that Mise-en-scene in Sunset Boulevard .There is a scene take Norma and Joe are dancing together during the New Year Eve, Joe feels uncomfortable with Norma's hair band because it is tickle, so Norma throw it away and Max picks up the hair band. The hair band represent the queen's crown and Norma is the queen. Max is the protector that always supports and protects the queen. So when Norma - the queen throw her crown away, her protector - Max protects the crown and its master. 

Sunset Boulevard (Wilder, B. 1950)

Another scene which locate in the studio where Mr. DeMille and his production team are producing a drama. Mr. DeMille invites Norma sits on his seat and he is going for a call. When Norma is sitting on the seats, a microphone is pass by and contacts with Norma. After that, Norma push the microphone away. This scene has show that Norma is not happy and not accept the existence of the audio film because during the silent film generation, the microphone is useless and using the actor/actress's expression to tell the story of the film. In the same scene and same setting, a lighting crew named Hog-Eye puts the light on Norma. The contrast between her and other people is become different. When the light in on Norma, she has go back to her famous age and become a queen again. All the people in the studio only realise her when the light is on her and all people include the crew and cast in the studio walk to her and surround to greet  her.

Sunset Boulevard (Wilder, B. 1950)

When Mr. DeMille finish his call and know that Gordon Cole, a producer that only wants to rent Norma's car, he go back to Norma and ask Hog-Eye to put the light back to its place. The contrast between Norma and other people become same and everyone that surrounding her is leaving and leave her alone. This scene brings the meaning of a queen is fallen and become a normal people. She is very famous in the pass silent film age, but now is the generation of audio film and she has become a normal people. In 1950's, rich people and poor people has different representation which we can found in Sunset Boulevard. When Norma is calling to Betty, we can see that Norma is using a white color phone while Betty is using a black color phone. During that time, white color phone is represent a rich people and black color phone represent poor people. 

Sunset Boulevard (Wilder, B. 1950)

Max is also using an old style phone because of his identity as a butler. 

Sunset Boulevard (Wilder, B. 1950)

Next is the characteristic of theme in Sunset Boulevard. In this film we find out there has hard-boiled anti-hero versus femme fatale. The male protagonist, Joe, lie to Norma in order to get a job when she ask him to stay and help her edit the script. Joe lies about he is pretty expensive and very busy with his assignment but actually he is very free and desperate for money. Besides, his masculinity had been threatened. That is because he has no money and he wants his car back so that he decides to help Norma edit her script and enjoy everything that Norma gives him. He also chooses the expensive material of his coats and takes money from Norma to buy cigarette. All of this had shown that he lost his masculinity. After that he also lost his freedom and control by Norma. This show in the scene when Norma asks him to clean the ashtray, asks him not to eat chewing gum and Norma also decides the material of his coats for him. Lastly, he made a moral decision which is he choose to leave both women, Norma and Betty.

Sunset Boulevard (Wilder, B. 1950)

Femme fatale in this film is Norma Desmond. She is a manipulative woman. She would not tell you directly if she wants something from you. Joe realizes that his things all had brought toward the mansion on the next morning and this is being ordered by Norma herself because she wants Joe to stay and help her edit the script. She is also very arrogant and ambitious. When Joe tell her she is appear too much in the scene and wants to remove her from one scene, she starts argue with Joe that everyone wants to see her and ask him put back the scene. Every day she receives many letters from her fan and she say that her fans wants her photograph but actually the letters is written by Max. Her mansion is crowded with her pictures and there has a very huge portrait at her living room. 

Sunset Boulevard (Wilder, B. 1950)

She has a theatre room and she is very enjoying watching her own films. She wants to be a star forever. But at the end Norma becomes mad. 

Sunset Boulevard (Wilder, B. 1950)

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