7. The Lost Weekend
The story of the making of The Lost Weekend proves to be much more interesting piece of cinema than the actual film itself. Famed director, Billy Wilder, had quite a difficult time working with alcoholic pulp novelist, Raymond Chandler. The film is not necessarily Wilders indictment on Chandler but his trying to explain to himself what Chandler was going through. However, the film falls into the category of the message film that feels too much like an after school special. Subtlety in Classic Hollywood films have never been their strong suit. The Lost Weekend is the perfect example of that. All the components of that makes up the film makes it quite watchable. But, the problem is the over the top storyline and message. Billy Wilders direction gives it the gray overtones that shadow an alcoholic especially with the neon signs passing through a person motif. Ray Milland also does a good job portraying a man struggling with demons. But, once again my problem is the portrayal of a bumbling drunk that seemed too exaggerated to be effective. My father was an alcoholic and I could not find truth in the film. Look at a recent film portraying alcoholism called Smashed. That film is perfect portrayal of alcohol dependency and the struggle to keep off it. But, that does not mean that The Lost Weekend was totally lost.