For people that are looking for an old classic in the film noir genre, one of my best recommendations has been Double Indemnity. So, before going into Sunset Boulevard, I was happy to see that it was Double Indemnity’s director, Billy Wilder, that was also responsible for making Sunset Boulevard, which is arguably a better-known classic. This is a really interesting movie to watch nowadays, because while it does have a nostalgic feeling due to being a noir film, it feels like at the time it was meant to be a very modern-feeling movie. It’s one of those “movies about making movies,” so there are plenty of references to how film has changed since the silent era. It’s funny to see this now because of how much film has changed since the black-and-white era, and so it’s hard to place yourself into a “modern mindset” for a movie this old.

Anyway, what’s it all about? Our protagonist is Joe Gillis, who is a Hollywood screenwriter struggling to find paying work. Because of this, he starts to lose a lot of his property. The most recent example is his car, which he fights to hold onto by avoiding his creditors and pulling off the road into some random driveway. However, he happens to pull into the driveway of Norma Desmond, a faded actress who was a huge hit in the silent era, but now is stuck being the only person that cares about her glory days. Norma immediately takes to Joe, and wants him to help her write a script that will allow her to make a big comeback. Soon, though, Joe starts to feel like Norma’s offer isn’t so much a request as it is a demand, and finds himself a prisoner to her whims.

I think the biggest praise I need to give Sunset Boulevard is Gloria Swanson’s performance as Norma Desmond, since she absolutely steals the show. Swanson does such a great job making Norma feel like such a big personality, to the point where it starts to feel like her real persona rather than a fictional character. Norma is a fascinating character to begin with, because I found myself questioning throughout the film whether she was more on the crazy or manipulative side. Swanson handles this well, making Norma seem like such a self-absorbed nutjob that’s willing to do anything to get what she wants. She owns the role so much, and is a big reason why the film is as engaging as it is, even to a modern viewer.

I was trying to compare Sunset Boulevard to Double Indemnity in my head to see which I thought was the better noir, but it’s actually a bit of a tough comparison. Sunset Boulevard definitely gives off the same kinds of vibes as Double Indemnity, and so Billy Wilder does a great job maintaining his same artistic style here. It was more the pacing that makes it a tough call for me. Double Indemnity definitely hooked me earlier in the movie, and then kept me intrigued throughout the whole film. Sunset Boulevard, on the other hand, does unfortunately start out a bit slow, and so I wasn’t fully invested until about halfway through the movie. However, then in its second half, it gets so good, and so the scenes in the climax especially feel better to me than anything in Double Indemnity. It’s kind of like Sunset Boulevard has higher highs and lower lows, but Double Indemnity is more consistently good throughout its whole runtime. In the end, I think I personally still recommend Double Indemnity as my favored movie, but I can completely see someone else thinking the opposite. I think the main point here is that both of these movies are fantastic and deserve a watch.

I think that Sunset Boulevard is a pretty easy watch for anyone that’s willing to watch an older movie. It does admittedly start out a bit slow, but it becomes incredibly intriguing the farther you get into it, and so I think it deserves its status as a classic. You’re very likely to see this movie on a lot of “greatest films of all time” lists, and it’s easy to see why. This was an incredibly important film at the time of its release, and it’s managed to stay interesting 70 years later. If you want to check out a great film noir, I think Sunset Boulevard deserves a look.

4.5/5