The Lost Weekend (1945)

Billy Wilder’s dark tale of alcoholism set over the course of four days as writer Don misses his train to a holiday retreat and embarks on a four day bender, is a solid as granite, bona fide masterpiece. Ray Millard’s portrayal of a drunken man is the most convincing since James Stewart in The Philadelphia Story (1940). The difference is that Stewart’s character is merely drunk; Millard’s Don is a drunk. Millard’s depiction is masterly, making you fully believe his false highs and without a doubt his crippling lows. I’ve heard from many who have experienced this first hand how accurate Millard’s performance is. After getting drunk and missing his train away (it was supposed to be a getaway with his long suffering girlfriend and his brother to help his rehabilitation) Don reacts as you would expect. Craftily finding access to some booze, he hits it hard, and we are treated to flash backs of how he met his girlfriend Helen and how much they mean to each other. Which makes his addiction all the more painful, and Wilder connotes this wonderfully; the shots and editing perfectly set us alongside the alcoholic, able to almost inhale the liquid as Don does, throwing us into the claustrophobia of his apartment. Watching on Blu-ray is highly recommended (or of course the big screen), the restoration does wonders for both the mise-en-scene and cinematography and despite being not far short of seventy years old, this is hands down one of the all time greats. 9.3/10