Film Analysis: Sunset Boulevard

The film Sunset Boulevard, presented in 1950 is a black and white film. The film is about Norma Desmond an old actress, who has issues accepting that she is becoming old. The main actor in the film is Gloria Swanson, who plays Norma Desmond, an older woman who believes she is still young. Desmond is not content with the fact that Hollywood has replaced her with younger actresses. The next actor Nancy Olson, plays Betty Schaffer who falls in love with Gillis despite being engaged to his friend. The third actor is William Holden who plays as Joe Gillis, who has financial problems and decides to turn himself into a gigolo to earn money. The dilemma with Joe is he does not want Betty to know about his job because he knows he might lose Betty as

a friend for lying to her. Lastly, Vow Strohem, plays Max, Desmond’s mysterious servant who makes Desmond believe she still have fans that admire her. Max role in the film is to lie to Desmond that she is still young and gives her hope that one day she will return to Hollywood. Furthermore, I found the film to be enjoyable because it was mysterious and kept the audience entertained.
This film is in black and white and is unique for this time because majority of the people today watch movies in color. Also, this film being black and white was great for this film because it was mysterious and dark. In addition, the music adds to the tension throughout the film such as, when Desmond’s character uncovers. When secret identities of characters are revealed in the film, the music gets creeper. Additionally, the music will get louder when everything in the film darkens when something drastic happens.
Moreover, the lighting in the film stays mainly on Desmond because the lighting on her makes her believe that she is still in the spotlight. However, Desmond in her youth was a popular actor and as she ages, the lights dim on her. The lightning gives the audience an idea that Desmond has trouble accepting her age and that Desmond cannot accept that her time in Hollywood has ended. In the beginning, when the lights first shine on Desmond it reveals how old she is and how she is dealing with her problems. Towards the end, the lighting becomes darker and darker on Desmond revealing she must accept the truth of aging and understand the light will not shine on her forever because everyone cannot remain in the spotlight forever.
Furthermore, the costumes and setting give the movie an idea of the character’s rank in society. An example is Desmond, who wears extravagant clothing showing that she is rich. Mostly, throughout the film, she wears black clothing, which represented her sadness and disappointment of accepting her time in Hollywood that ended many years ago. Another example, Gillis, who in the beginning wears modest clothes because he cannot afford anything else. Eventually, he becomes a gigolo and ends up wearing expensive suits that many people cannot afford. For the setting, Desmond’s mansion is creepy and old. Desmond’s mansion is torn down and has a scary view which represents the problems that Desmond has in accepting everything around her has changed. In addition, inside her house, she has many pictures of herself when she was young and famous. In fact, the setting inside her house explains she cannot move on and keeps believing that she will be young for eternity.
In conclusion, this film in black and white is enjoyable because it presents an older woman that cannot accept that everything around her has changed. I would recommend it only to an older audience who finds black and white films enjoyable. I personally would rate this film a 10 because it is the first to reveal the struggles an actress has gone through with Hollywood. The film overall was entertaining because it shows us the dark side of Hollywood in ruining an actors life before becoming old. This film has won many awards and is entertaining for an audience who enjoys watching films that are older and mysterious.