The Lost Weekend (1945)

 

Billy Wilder’s ‘The Lost Weekend’

 

Thematic Elements:

In 1945, veterans came back from the war and were unable to relinquish the horrors that they witness. Many of them turned to alcohol. Although the protagonist in not a war veteran (he is a writer), he still is unable to move on with his life without the help of alcohol. As he progresses with his addition, the number of things he won’t do to obtain alcohol start to become smaller and smaller. He ends up trading his humanity just to numb himself of it. Not many thematic elements are two prevalent in this film. The main perspective of the film is that your addiction can only become more and more nightmarish until you are able to overcome it.

Camerawork: Wilder uses a lot of noir techniques; however, I would not call this a total noir film. The film starts off very light to suggest only a mild intoxication for the viewer. But as the film, progresses, it becomes darker and more nightmarish. The film feels more and more like a horrible nightmare as the protagonist descends into his all-out addiction. A great use of the Theremin is used in the sound mixing to convey a distorted and uneasy state of mind.

Best Shot: The best shot of the film is a very simple shot for a very simple purpose. The shot of the of the water rings from all the shots he’s taken is meant to convey that ‘one simple drink’ is never enough for the protagonist, because he is in fact caught in an endless cycle of addiction.



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