Shirley MacLaine - Fran Kubelik
Billy Wilder (Director)
In the film The Naked City there is a line of dialogue that reads: "There are 8 million stories in the naked city". They are of course referring to New York City. This is the setting of The Apartment. It is a film about a few of those stories and how they intersect. CC Baxter is a humble, hard working man just trying to get noticed in an ocean of humanity. Both in the city as well as in the building and office he works in. Wilder and the film does a wonderful job of visualizing just how insignificant and indistinguishable he is.
The movie jumps right into the plot. CC, in an attempt to get noticed and hopefully promoted, loans his apartment out to his superiors at work for them to have affairs on theirs wives. I found Wilder's approach to this story to be very blunt and I was shocked at how readily everyone was willing to talk about what was happening. The film was made in 1960. I'm sure this was cutting edge for the time.
CC his self doesn't seem to have any romantic interests although his neighbors all think he is a playboy because they hear noises through the walls almost every night. That is until CC meets Fran. Fran is an elevator girl in his building. She is quick with a kind word and even quicker a contumelious one. Fran is the earliest example that I have recognized as a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. I like the way the movie takes its time in developing their relationship.
Well, CC's plan works. He begins loaning his place out more and more. Even to the point where he is putting his career in front of his health. Then, when the big promotion is at hand he is sent up to talk to the main supervisor Mr. Sheldrake. Sheldrake knows about CC's racket and he decided to take advantage of the situation as well. Sheldrake is another upper management cheating on his wife. I was amazed at how frank the movie dealt with infidelity. It was more like a right of passage than an immoral act.
Everything seems to be aces for CC. He got the promotion, he is talking and trying to get Fran to see him socially. He even bought a new hat for the occasion. This may not seem like much, but it is a way for CC to distinguish from the herds of lemming in the accounting office. Everything is aces until he finds out the the reason Fran doesn't meet him after work is the same reason Sheldrake needs his apartment. The two of them are carrying on an affair.
It seems that Sheldrake has thoroughly been wadding through the secretary pool for years now. Fran is just his latest victim. The same Chinese restaurant's, the same frozen drinks, the sames lines about leaving his wife. All Sheldrake is looking for is a good time and all Fran wants is a way out of her lonely existence. And stuck in the middle is CC. He is torn between his professional aspirations, his feelings for Fran and his morals.
At the end of the second act there is an event that will shake the foundation of all three main characters and launch us into a dark and reflective final act. This film is a romantic comedy unlike any I have ever seen before. It is both romantic and comedic but it adds a dark and almost disgusting feeling. My guts were torn out. I haven't felt so strongly and sympathized so much with the characters in a film for a long time. I just wanted Fran to be happy. I just wanted CC to get the girl and stand up for himself for once.
I love a movie that make me want to reach inside the TV and pull the characters out. The Apartment just fell short of making me cry. Wilder pulled so many different emotional strings to just the right tension. I have a good feeling when I get to the end of this project The Apartment will be one of my favorite films. I give The Apartment ★★★★★.
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