Sunset Boulevard Film Analysis

"Lights! Camera! Action!" the dramatic yet traditional prompt associated with Hollywood and the pictures. Hollywood appears to be this extraordinary glamorous world; however, in reality is it? Many people dream of being in the limelight of Hollywood; where there is an endless amount of money, power, and fame. Society fails to examine what's behind fame; the dark, twisted, and the ugly truths hiding within those exact words. Billy Wilder explores and divulges the dark yet unknown, harsh realities of fame, following Hollywood's transition from silent pictures to talkies; with his film Sunset Boulevard.
Sunset Boulevard is a 1950 American classic film noir, starring Gloria Swanson (Norma Desmond), William Holden (Joe Gillis), and Erich Von Stroheim
The narrator takes us down the dark, creepy streets of Sunset Boulevard; where the audience discovers a dead man lying face down in a swimming pool. In order to analyze this mysterious murder, the narrator reverts 6 months back to where it all began; when Joe Gillis encounters has-been superstar Norma Desmond and her loyal Butler Max, living in what he thought was an unhappy deserted mansion. The film creates a sense of anxiety and suspicion when investigating the private fantasies of the femme fatale Norma Desmond, and demonstrates the catastrophe evoked after exposing her to the truth. Sunset Boulevard shows us just how dark Hollywood can be, through lies, abandonment, and destruction. Scriptwriter/Anti-hero Joe Gillis struggles to find work in his competitive career; he is often rejected, and has no one to help him fix his financial crisis until he meets estranged Norma Desmond who seduces him with her fortune. Desmond lives her life stuck in the past and dreams of returning to the pictures; but she is needy, lonely, and abandoned by directors, fans and absolutely everybody except her Butler Max who loves her dearly. Max discovered Norma at a young age and introduced her to Hollywood. For that reason, Max feels responsible for the way Norma’s life turned out after the switch to talking pictures, and creates this fantasy world where she isn’t forgotten. In the film, Norma and Max are completely disconnected from the rest of the world, and Joe uses Norma to his advantage only to end up stuck in her world. Hollywood has the power to completely demolish and invade entire lives with negativity, hopelessness, depression, and emptiness. Billy Wilder recognizes these flaws that exist in Hollywood and demonstrates these flaws in his film noir, Sunset Boulevard; using lighting and the colors black and white to his