billy wild sunset boulevard be the blackly funny and often pitifully sad portrayal of a have be silent star and alive a if against the knowledge of the outside world and in her misshapen manor and screen her old film and imagine unstoppably and relentlessly and of a return and that she be under the illusion will vindicate her fan and who all feel robbed of her . but it also a disfigured love story and which while it keep it from become simply a waxwork or a freak show and cause it to drag a little tiny bit . gloria swanson give an unforgettable performance a the silent star norma desmond and with her covetous and melodramatic finger and her theatrical gesture and her high flying delusion of grandeur . william holden considerately play the role of the writer half her age and who let himself be keep by her . but the performance that give swanson match reverberation and relish the film gothic grandiosity and be by erich von stroheim and a norma mysterious and devoted butler . the movie engrave itself on the doorstep of the world in which it be set and extract so candidly from life in picture that we can smell and lick and penetrate the special minutia and the unequivocal parallel between the story and the actual actor themselves . what make it so pitch perfect be how wild skate on thin ice flank by black comedy and tragedy . swanson norma desmond slithers within millimeter of lampoon herself and take huge chance with over the top sneer and affect lunge and theatrical posturing and and world record break narcissism and dangle norma at the brink of psychosis for the vast majority of the movie and then creep over . norma obviously be not a wrinkly mummy . she be young than star such a jane fonda and france mcdormand . she have age only in her mind eye and have grow obsessed obsess obsessed with her moment of eminence in the past . what be most fun about sunset boulevard be how genuine wilder have the wonderful nerve to be . he use real name and show real people and sometimes extensively . sunset boulevard get to the bottom of the false impression between audience and insider and and do not allow norma desmond to . the plot provide holden with many reason to agree to norma proposal of a job a her personal and hush hush script doctor . he bust and the rent be overdue and he be a fugitive from repo men and and he would hate to return to his job a a columnist in ohio ( it always get to be ohio . why . what do we ever do to anybody . ) . he be as well not wholeheartedly reluctant to prostitute himself . holden pitch faint fragility and internal struggle into his character . he go through the form of say he doesn not want norma gift and but he take them and claim to be surprise on new year eve when she throw a party just for the two of them and but surely he have know from the first that she want not only a writer and but a young man to reassure her that she be still attractive . what be brilliantly satirical about all this be that in hollywood and a screenwriter be so oppressed and low on the food chain that he will do anything to keep working . and what be furthermore brilliantly satirical be that norma life be not so bad . she really her own bad enemy and which be what make her story so pitiful . there be sure enough the young blonde studio writer with the highly predictable name of betty and who be engage to jack webb and but a holden begin sneak out of the house to work together on a script with her and she fall for him . he would do her in a heartbeat and but he back off and to a certain extent because he doesn not want her to find out the truth and but what more because he shamefully like the way of life with norma . wilder create an exceedingly absorbing effect here and because when he escape to see his old pal jack webb and and tension grows between him and betty and norma world sure have get stuffy by that time and we feel a great deal of solace from her twisted realm . of all the great director of hollywood old day wyler and stevens and lang and hitchcock billy wilder be the big breath of fresh air . he know how to blast a fun love sense of humor at you even in the face of knowingly pathetic subject and character . and he could go straight to the other extreme in the same film and outright disturb you more than you ever think a film from the old day ever could . double indemnity and ace in the hole and some like it hot and the seven year itch and the apartment and the lose weekend and stalag 17 and witness for the prosecution and sabrina and sunset boulevard all have a great comforting quality at the same time they be helm by the silent man behind the camera who you never think about and the sublime master of mood swing and not to mention he consistently show his strong sense of the importance of a memorable closing line and closing shot .