Sunset Boulevard should also be considered a horror movie. For our protagonist, Joe Gillis, the first half of the movie is certainly a nightmare that has come to life. Having met Ms. Desmond could be considered an unlucky coincidence, or does fate and destiny work in weird, cruel ways. From running from his bill collectors, to wearing mink, to being dead, Mr Gillis’ whole life had turned upside down. He was being held in a house with a delusional woman, a man who sheltered and enabled her ideas, and eventually lost his life in. That mansion on Sunset Blvd, became a movie set for Norma to unknowingly “star in” her final scene. That house had lost the touch it once had, but once Joe had started to come around it made the house change. It looked less dull, the pool got filled, and Norma had seemed the happiest she had been in a while.
Max being her first husband, and agent/producer made them have a weird dynamic. He only wanted the best for her, but her days were over, and her mind seemed to be long far gone. Between her suicide attempts and copious amounts of wealth, she had the ability to disconnect from society, except for her old friends that were from the same as her. Joe could never connect with her truly and he had to leave just to “Hear someone laugh again.” He began to connect with Arties girl, when they wrote the Untitled Love Story.
Seeing Norma so destroyed says alot about power and sexuality in Hollywood. She’s no longer beautiful just as C.B. DeMille’s assistant jokingly jabs at. She had her time in the spotlight, literally, when she went to go revisit the old studio. It made her think she could go back like nothing ever changed. I felt bad for her character honestly, and she also made me uncomfortable. I now know how Susan felt in Citizen Kane. He just kind of held her in a bubble just like Ms. Desmond did to Joe. Then she killed him, which was not cool.
The Horn 
JohnLuke,
This post focuses on characterization and power dynamics in Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard. You open by considering the genre of the film. On the one hand, this is a classic noir; but on the other, it also contains strong Gothic underpinnings and, as you point out, elements of horror as well. The film places Joe in the position that female characters usually occupy in Gothic works: they are generally trapped in a large, decaying home and under the rule of an older figure. That said, the power shifts back and forth over the course of the film, and there are many points at which Joe has the upper hand (and at which he could leave), especially toward the beginning of their relationship. Why do you think Wilder has the power shift in this way? In what ways has Joe chosen his “peculiar prison”?
While you make several good observations throughout the post, it at times feels a bit scattered, as you take on many different sub-topics. For the next entry, challenge yourself to open with a specific and clear argument that you use the rest of the post to develop via analysis/evidence pulled from the film.
Nevertheless, solid post here. I look forward to discussing the film this week!
MT
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