{"id":19222,"date":"2011-08-15T12:12:39","date_gmt":"2011-08-15T19:12:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=19222"},"modified":"2021-01-15T10:16:09","modified_gmt":"2021-01-15T17:16:09","slug":"lost-weekend-the-1945","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=19222","title":{"rendered":"Lost Weekend, The (1945)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Most men lead lives of quiet desperation. I can&#8217;t take quiet desperation!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Lost-Weekend-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Lost-Weekend-Poster-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-19223\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Lost-Weekend-Poster-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Lost-Weekend-Poster-85x128.jpg 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Lost-Weekend-Poster.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAn alcoholic writer (Ray Milland) cared for by his loyal brother (Phillip Terry) and girlfriend (Jane Wyman) battles his addiction during a particularly grueling weekend alone in New York.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Alcoholism and Drug Addiction<\/li>\n<li>Billy Wilder Films<\/li>\n<li>Jane Wyman Films<\/li>\n<li>Ray Milland Films<\/li>\n<li>Writers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary begins his review of this ground-breaking film about alcoholism (the first to address the issue head-on) by asking, &#8220;Is there anybody who really enjoys movies about junkies or alcoholics trying to cure their addiction?&#8221; (I&#8217;ll wager the answer is &#8220;Yes&#8221;.) He admits that he &#8220;invariably feel[s] less excitement than obligation to watch this early social drama and multi-Oscar winner (for Best Picture, Actor, and Screenplay) whenever it turns up on television&#8221;, yet concedes that he&#8217;s &#8220;always surprised to find [him]self becoming engrossed&#8221; in the film, However, he argues that his &#8220;enjoyment is somewhat perverse&#8221;, given that he is &#8220;not so taken by those scenes in which the drunk Milland makes a fool of himself in public&#8230; or has hallucinations&#8221; as by &#8220;watching the sober Milland start squirming and sweating&#8230; thinking about a drink, planning how to get it, lying so he can be alone to pursue it, figuring out what to pawn for the money he&#8217;ll need&#8230;&#8221; He posits that &#8220;surely director Billy Wilder and his co-writer, Charles Brackett, are exhibiting ironic wit when they show how much a man will suffer in order to suffer even more.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>Since its release, of course (when <em>NY Times<\/em> critic Bosley Crowther referred to it as &#8220;shatteringly realistic and morbidly fascinating&#8221;), countless other films &#8212; too many to list here &#8212; have tackled the sticky topic of alcoholism and\/or drug addiction, thus lessening the inherent shock value of <em>The Lost Weekend<\/em> for modern viewers. Yet on its own terms, the film remains a well-told tale of &#8220;a several-day [nightmarish] binge that almost costs [a man] his loyal girlfriend&#8230; and his life.&#8221; As Peary notes, the &#8220;dialogue is tough and cynical&#8221; (&#8220;She knows she&#8217;s clutching a razor blade, but she just won&#8217;t let go!&#8221;), and &#8220;Wilder makes strong use of New York streets and backgrounds&#8221; by blending &#8220;harsh expressionistic visuals indoors with washed-out shots of the city to convey mood changes in Milland&#8221;. With a running time of 101 minutes, the film thankfully never feels too long; from the tensely scripted and filmed opening sequence (in which Milland tries to distract his brother long enough to pack a hidden bottle of alcohol that&#8217;s dangling from a rope outside his window sill), to the justifiably lauded sequence in which Milland walks the streets of New York in desperate search of a pawn shop (only to find that they&#8217;re all closed on Yom Kippur), we&#8217;re genuinely curious to know what kind of trouble Milland will find himself in next, and how he&#8217;ll worm his way out. <\/p>\n<p>Most problematic for me, however, is the fact that &#8220;Milland (who usually played nice guys) is <em>mean<\/em> right from the beginning&#8221;. While Wilder and Brackett should be commended for not &#8220;pull[ing] any punches&#8221; in their portrayal of a man who all but the most loyal of friends and family members would have given up on long ago, it&#8217;s slightly discomfiting to be rooting for someone so utterly unlikable. Milland&#8217;s Don Birnam comes across like a self-pitying whiner who needs a serious kick in the pants to get himself back in gear; even a strategically placed flashback sequence &#8212; in which we get to see Milland meeting cute with Wyman at an opera &#8212; doesn&#8217;t help us like him any better. Fortunately, Milland&#8217;s performance is &#8220;strong&#8221;, and he carries the film surprisingly well. As Peary notes in his <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em> (where he votes for Boris Karloff in Val Lewton&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5641\"><em>The Body Snatcher<\/em><\/a> instead as Best Actor of the Year), Milland&#8217;s performance was &#8220;the best by any of the [official] nominees and maybe the best of his decent career, [but] he doesn&#8217;t make you feel enough empathy for his sick, troubled character&#8221;. Indeed, while Milland should certainly be commended for daring to &#8220;play an unsympathetic character for a change&#8221;, I don&#8217;t think society in general understood enough about the disease-driven nature of alcoholism at the time for Milland to do justice to the role; as a result, Birnam ultimately comes across as a pathetic anti-hero rather than the pitiable addict he really is. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ray Milland as Don Birnam<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Lost-Weekend-Milland2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Lost-Weekend-Milland2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"656\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19227\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Lost-Weekend-Milland2.png 656w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Lost-Weekend-Milland2-128x93.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Lost-Weekend-Milland2-300x219.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 656px) 100vw, 656px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Fine supporting performances<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Lost-Weekend-Terry.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Lost-Weekend-Terry.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"656\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19228\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Lost-Weekend-Terry.png 656w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Lost-Weekend-Terry-128x93.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Lost-Weekend-Terry-300x219.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 656px) 100vw, 656px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>John Seitz&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Lost-Weekend-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Lost-Weekend-Cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"656\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19229\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Lost-Weekend-Cinematography.png 656w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Lost-Weekend-Cinematography-128x93.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Lost-Weekend-Cinematography-300x219.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 656px) 100vw, 656px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Good use of authentic New York locations<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Lost-Weekend-New-York.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Lost-Weekend-New-York.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"656\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19230\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Lost-Weekend-New-York.png 656w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Lost-Weekend-New-York-128x93.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Lost-Weekend-New-York-300x219.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 656px) 100vw, 656px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Charles Brackett&#8217;s screenplay<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, for its historical relevance, and for Milland&#8217;s Oscar winning performance.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Historically Relevant<\/li>\n<li>Important Director<\/li>\n<li>Oscar Winner or Nominee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0037884\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/movies.nytimes.com\/movie\/review?res=9402E6DA163FE533A25750C0A9649D946493D6CF\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.filmsite.org\/lostw.html\">FilmSite Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jigsawlounge.co.uk\/film\/lostweekend.html\">Jigsaw Lounge Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.reelviews.net\/php_review_template.php?identifier=2137\">ReelViews Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/81891\/the-lost-weekend#articles-reviews\">TCM: Behind the Camera<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/movies.tvguide.com\/lost-weekend\/review\/129279\">TV Guide Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/the-lost-weekend\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Most men lead lives of quiet desperation. I can&#8217;t take quiet desperation!&#8221; Synopsis: An alcoholic writer (Ray Milland) cared for by his loyal brother (Phillip Terry) and girlfriend (Jane Wyman) battles his addiction during a particularly grueling weekend alone in New York. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Billy Wilder Films Jane Wyman Films Ray Milland Films Writers Response to Peary\u2019s Review: Peary begins his review of this ground-breaking film about alcoholism (the first to address the&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=19222\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19222"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19222\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63454,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19222\/revisions\/63454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}