The Apartment (1960)

 Billy Wilder’s ‘The Apartment’

Thematic Elements: Billy Wilder’s The Apartment shows two characters who are slaves to their company’s value system. The company is led by a corrupt boss, Mr. Sheldrake, who does nothing but lie, cheat, and take advantage of people. The rest of the employees of the company behave in the same way. Bud’s directors take advantage of him by extorting him into using his apartment so they can have affairs without their wives knowing. Employees are rude to Fran and are constantly objectifying her as they travel the elevator. Wilder is perhaps suggesting that if abhorrent behavior lies at the top, then it surely affects the value system of the rest of the enterprise. Perhaps this is also true to the larger society we live. Bud and Fran must endure this behavior by others, however, in order to get ahead. They are loyal members of their company and believe that if they continue to behave loyally, they will reap the benefits. In this way, they are slaves to this corrupt value system. Their loyalty to the system blinds them and the aspect of working to attain more overwhelms their entire life. They both spend time at work and time outside of work continuously focused on work. It has consumed their life and they cannot live a normal life because of their constant pursuit to get ahead. They do nothing but give only to realize in the end that their giving if for all for not. Fran realizes that Mr. Sheldrake is lying to her and just using her to make himself happy and has no intention of leaving his wife for her. Bud realizes that once is able to get the boss’s assistant job, he has utterly corrupted his own personal values to obtain it. Both must come to the conclusion that they can no longer depend on the system for their own personal happiness and value. 

Camerawork: This film takes place during Christmas time. However, you would not have known it because the film is in black and white. The black and white dampens down the typical colors of Christmas. By eliminating what would be considered lively and joyous, bleakness is emphasized instead. Wilder also widens the frame to great effect. The wider screen emphasizes space beyond the characters. This extra space highlights the character’s loneliness, as it shows they are surrounded by emptiness. 

Best Shot: The best shot in the film is the shot of Bud sitting alone on his work floor. He is staying late so that one of his bosses can utilize his apartment for his own secretive affair. The single figure alone in what seems like infinite desks emphasizes how much Bud’s life is consumed with dealing with his work. He is constantly staying overtime and constantly letting his superiors take advantage of him. He appears small in the frame amid the enormous desks to bring back the point illustrated before. The extra space accentuates his extreme loneliness and isolation.