johnfide

"Days of Wine and Roses" is one of the best films ever to have dealt with the theme of alcoholism, together with Billy Wilder's "The Lost Weekend", starring an extraordinary Ray Milland. Here to face the dramatic problem is a couple, formed by Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick, both very good and convincing in their respective parts (Joe and Kirsten).

The film begins in a comedy style, with funny romantic moments: Joe and Kirsten know each other, he courts her, she seems to deny herself but deep down she's in love too, they get married, they have a daughter. Everything seems to be going well, but already in the early stages we notice some potentially worrying signs.

So, slowly but surely, the story plunges the two protagonists into the abyss of addiction. Lemmon's character introduces Remick's one, initially almost a teetotaler, to the habit of drinking. He's already used to drown his frustrations in alcohol and wishes to do it in her company. Gradually she too finds herself immersed in addiction and, as we'll see in the last minutes, it will be even more complicated for her to get out of it.

The story is touching and engaging, realistic but with a touch of poetry, without ever falling into dullness. It's clear how difficult is to get rid of an addiction, both physically and psychologically. There are many memorable scenes, some of which are still chilling today. You can feel the skilful and modern hand of Blake Edwards, a director of great quality, so valid even on a dramatic level.

The excellent Lemmon and Remick are well supported, especially by Charles Bickford (Kirsten's father, a very touching character) and Jack Klugman (who tries to help Joe by making him participate in the sessions of the Alcoholics Anonymous).

Last thing, I think the ending is very apt. I'm not here to spoil anything, but for me it was the best way to end the story, leaving the viewer to deeply reflect on what has just seen.

An excellent movie, less known than other ones directed by William Wyler, but also worthy of the right attention. Magnificent are the opening scene, with the murder in the plantation, and the ending. Cinematography is brilliant, a vibrant black and white, with meaningful nocturnal chiaroscuro. Dialogues are very accurate.

The acting is brilliant. The interpretation of the main character Leslie Crosbie by Bette Davis is very good and intense (but there was no doubt about it). Of the same high level are James Stephenson, who plays the lawyer Howard Joyce, with his profound moral dilemmas and internal conflicts, and Herbert Marshall, in the role of Bette Davis' husband: he plays very well the different moods of a man in love with a wounded heart.

The exotic settings and the atmosphere are suggestive, with interesting and enigmatic characters who come into contact with the main ones, creating ambiguous and exciting situations. Maybe the plot is not so original, but the way it's presented is very efficacious and engaging.