THE APARTMENT (1960)

Director:
Billy Wilder

Writer:

Billy Wilder
I.A.L. Diamond

Starring:
Jack Lemmon
Shirley MacLaine
Fred MacMurray and others

Now firstly I would like to begin by saluting the greatest director who ever lived aka Billy Wilder. This is my third Wilder movie and his attention for detail never ceases to amaze me. Now the story revolves around an insurance agent called C.C Baxter (played by the stunning Jack Lemmon) who rents out his apartment to senior executives for trysts so as the rise up the ladder faster. All is not well as his "customers" become more demanding and cause him a great deal of discomfort.

This continues till he falls for the gorgeous Fran Kubleik (played by Shirley MacLaine). The rest of the story just involves his attempts to woo her, even though she is obviously interested in Jeff Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray). The screenplay of this movie is layered and tight. The way Wilder ties up every reference in the script towards the end is truly what makes him the best story-teller of all time. The direction is something that I didn't pay attention to (for the first time ever), not from lack of intent but due to the fact that I was simply to busy admiring his writing ability . I dare film-makers to best this masterpiece, as this is definitely the best romantic movie I have ever seen.

Pranit’s Rating: 9/10