Saturday, July 09, 2022

Movie review - "The Lost Weekend" (1945) **** (warning: spoilers)

 Wonderful how it dramatises the subject matter - alcoholism becomes about the search for a drink, the search for cash: object, intent, obstacle. Support characters have lovely flavour: the seen it all bartender, the mean nurse, the lonely female boozer with a crush on Milland.

The character of the girlfriend (Jane Wyman) is all too believable - a woman who puts up with too much crap. She should leave him. The relationship is doomed. But it's a miracle they got the film made let alone made it successful who can begrudge them stopping where it is. Wyman is good - Philip Terry is bad in an admittedly thankless role as Milland's enabling brother. Milland is excellent in the role of a lifetime.

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