Too much of everything

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

For audiences 56 years ago, this film packed a real punch. A drama which purported to survey the effects of alcoholism. And the picture presented was not pretty: binging, powerlessness, insanity... In other words, every myth codified by Bill Wilson and AA.So, what you get are stereotypes. There are no real people. Lemmon and Remick fulfill the moral of the story. No shadings of characterization...full-blown drunks. Problem is, that's Bill Wilson's take, which heavily influences the film. The intervening decades have supplied research which has redefined alcoholism, and ushered Wilson's faith healing religious cult out the door.Boiled down to its basics, TDWR suffers from wrongs: wrong director, wrong star, wrong script, wrong advisor.

Having had quite a bit of experience dealing with alcoholics, I found this film to be quite true to the experience. Jack Lemmon, one of the best, is a drunk and Lee Remick is not. That is until we find out that she has that propensity, that disease, that makes her eventually come true to form. This is a rather voyeuristic film in that we sit back and watch as things become worse and worse. There is no end to what alcoholics will do to maintain their anonymity. They will lie, cheat, and steal to keep it all up. We get to watch their pathetic beings fall into the pits of depravity. Lemmon and Remick are incredible as the sad pair, doing everything they can to keep from facing up to things. Great movie; great performances. Perhaps the best film ever about the evils of alcoholism.

It starts like some kind of sophisticated sex comedy, and a beautifully written and acted one at that, before turning into what is possibly the American cinema's most harrowing study of what it's like to be an alcoholic. When he directed "Days of Wine and Roses" Blake Edwards had already established a reputation as a fine director of comedy but this was an altogether different ball-game.Fundamentally it was an actor's piece and Edwards had two of the best. As the young couple who become totally dependent on booze Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick turned in Oscar-worthy performances, (they were nominated), and the film was brave enough not to have an entirely happy ending, (nor does it ever slip entirely into melodrama). It has also stood the test of time better than many other American pictures of the time. Superb.

The 1960's saw a change in American cinema. Producers seemed to be moving away from the conventional approach of ham-fisted delivery and super fast-talking, and going for something altogether more realistic. The Hays Code was losing power with the influx of foreign films that weren't bound by any strict ruling, and audiences were obviously striving for something more challenging and confrontational. Blake Edward's Days of Wine and Roses, a powerful portrayal of a marriage crumbling beneath alcoholism, is a clear example of this. Alcoholism had been depicted before of course, but never in such a downright distressing manner. Billy Wilder's The Lost Weekend followed writer Don Birnam (played by Ray Milland) as alcohol destroyed his very soul. But that was back in 1945, when the Hays Code was at the height of its power, so it would always be restrained. It is undoubtedly an excellent film, but Days of Wine and Roses gets under the skin of the 'disease', and although it is ultimately a poorer film in comparison to The Lost Weekend, it is certainly more profound and powerful.Public relations man Joe Clay (Jack Lemmon) meets and falls in love with teetotal secretary Kirsten (Lee Remick), and after a whirlwind romance, the couple quickly marry. Skip forward a year, and Joe has turned into a full-blown alcoholic, frequently returning home late from work and behaving erratically. When his drinking starts to effect his job, Joe is demoted, causing a strain on home life. The couple slump into addiction, sharing the joys and struggles of succumbing entirely to the bottle. After Joe loses his job, they quit drinking, identifying it as the reason their marriage is struggling and potentially losing custody of their daughter. But unbeknownst to them, they are locked in a three-way marriage, and a drink is always around the corner.Based on screenwriter J.P. Miller's own teleplay, Days of Wine and Roses is shot in stark yet beautiful black-and-white, pulling no punches and avoiding romantic sentimentality. Jack Lemmon is superb as Joe, a man who confronts his problem yet also sees it as the glue that binds his marriage together. It is the only thing they can share equal joy with, yet for their marriage to work, they simply must get sober. But Kirsten (an equally superb performance from Remick) refuses to let go, lost in her addiction so much she is willing to lose her husband and daughter to it. The film is depressing yet emotional, complex yet simple, clinically done by Edwards, who engages with unfussy and suitably minimalistic direction. Although it does to get a little bit too stagey sometimes, it is a joy to behold, leaving you an ironically sober feeling.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com