Sunset Blvd is a classic American film noir filmed in 1950 and a lesson in what refusing to grow old gracefully can result in.

It was directed by Billy Wilder who made many other classic movies and its name provides the basis for its setting. The title is the famous Boulevard in Los Angeles and the playground of the rich and famous movie stars.

Lead man William Holden is the little know screenplay writer and Norma Desmond, played by Gloria Swanson is the faded, jaded movie star with a forgotten career.

Holden wants to be rich and famous and comes with the same dream of many a starry eyed writer drawn to the city. However, his debts are huge and the streets are not paved with gold. His checks bounce and his debts are never ending. Desmond needs to have a screenplay written which she hopes will jump start her career and Joe needs money. So they begin a mutually convenient relationship which quickly transpires into a romantic affair.

Desmond is deluded. She is much older now and the silent movie industry is long gone. Gillis exploits this to his advantage though and moves in to her mansion and her heart. She is in love with him and when she feels him slipping away then she tries to take her life.

Desmond believes that her career will flourish again, but she is more mature in years now and the film company has no interest in her script.

In secret Joe works on a script with a younger writer Betty and the two of them fall in love. He is determined to leave Norma, but she fires a shot and he falls dead into the swimming pool at her lavish mansion.

At this point Desmond in her deranged, mentally unstable state delivers her classic line “I’m ready for my close up”. She is unable to cope with reality preferring to switch to a fantasy world where she is at the center stage.

The movie is pretty tragic and its themes of aging, greed and fame are still very significant today. The film has a timeless quality and has relevant themes that many people will relate to.

Norma’s character is pitiful and self deluded and it is hard not to feel sympathy for her. The film industry has made her into a star, but now she is forgotten by many and lives a reclusive life in her mansion on Sunset Boulevard.

The servants she has treat her gently and pander to her need to look youthful. In this day and age of botox and plastic surgery the film is an uncomfortable reminder that there are some things that can’t be bought.

Sunset Boulevard is suitable for all ages and is a thought provoking look at the lives of the rich and famous. Desmond’s lavish mansion, swimming pool and servants are things that are associated with making it in life, but her mental instability arising from her lost youth makes all these material possessions meaningless.

Gillis is greedy and heartless and shows how people can exploit others to get what they want. The film, Sunset Blvd, is well worth watching and ultimately evokes sympathy for the characters.

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