The Apartment

Billy Wilder was an extremely interesting director. He was inherently a comedic director, but he was arguably the first director since Chaplin to inject actual pathos into his films that were basically designed to make people laugh. Comedy is always looked down upon for being inferior to drama, but Wilder had the distinct ability to give his comedies something deeper, and perhaps his deepest "comedy" is his Academy Award winning film "The Apartment". Lacing every single scene with a tinge of cynicism and bitterness, the film can easily be mistaken for a Woody Allen film, as its characters are all filled with problems, neuroses and imperfections. The protagonist, the always appealing Jack Lemmon as Bud Baxter, is a corporate schlub who hatches the perfect scheme: instead of toiling away for years, rising up the ladder the old fashioned way, he plans on using his boss' vices for his own benefit, by exchanging his apartment for their extramarital affairs for a little favortism when it comes to promotions. Imagine, a comedy in which the mild mannered, endearing main character's primary goal is to get ahead by aiding his superiors in having affairs with their wives. Only Billy Wilder would expect (and more significantly get) the audience's support for Baxter; of course it does not hurt that Jack Lemmon plays Bud as a generally nice guy who has figured out a loophole, something any one can relate to. His perfect plan however collides head on with his personal feelings when, after a series of promotions, he is loaning the apartment to the company president who chooses as his next fling Fran Kubelik, the pretty elevator girl that Baxter is secretly in love with. In an ordinary romantic comedy the outcome would never be in doubt, but with Wilder, well, it always pays to watch until the very end.

The film opens with an introduction to Baxter in his midtown office building. He is portrayed as the only nice guy in a sea of jerks. This is demonstrated by the fact that he removes his hat when addressing Fran in the elevator, something none of the other men do, and that, despite his immoral means of getting ahead, he really does go out of his way to make the situation work. He is constantly rearranging his schedule to accomodate the sexual proclivities of his bosses, and must endure the scorn of his neighbors, who see a parade of men, women and booze coming and going from his apartment every night. What makes Baxter likeable is that his intentions are good; if he could get ahead the old fashioned way, through hard work and paying one's dues, he would, but he knows that is not often the case. His plan works up until a point; after getting all the way up to assistant to the top man, company president Jeff Sheldrake, Baxter is finally forced to make a decision: his morals, or his job. The dilemma comes in the form of Sheldrake's new girl, Fran. Sheldrake, played by Fred MacMurray in what must have shocked audiences of the time, since MacMurray was usually more suited to goofy supporting roles or light hearted family comedies, here plays the smug, smarmy suit that initially tempts Baxter with tokens of appreciation for his complicity, tickets to the hot Broadway musical for instance, but then, when Baxter tries sabotaging the relationship because of his own feelings for Fran, the snake inside Sheldrake bares its fangs and threatens Baxter's job. Complicating things is that Fran, despite having Baxter, an all around nice guy who genuinely loves her, right in front of her the entire time, spends most of the movie blissfully unaware of his noble intentions towards her, and actually tries deluding herself into thinking Sheldrake cares for her, and that it could work between them. When Sheldrake refuses to break an engagement with his wife to see her, right around Christmas, Fran swallows a bottle of pills at Baxter's apartment, and thanks to the kindly but suspicious next door neighbor who happens to be a doctor, Baxter is able to nurse her back to health.

The audience's frustrations are taken even higher, as another woman informs Sheldrake's wife of his affairs, and she promptly kicks him out of the house, leaving him free to pursue Fran, which she stupidly falls for. Baxter is furious, both at Sheldrake, to whom he has confessed his feelings for Fran by this point, and to Fran, for falling back under Sheldrake's slimy spell. Predictably, Sheldrake almost immediately brushes off Fran's big plans for them, and she wanders aimlessly back to Baxter's apartment. After losing his job over Fran, then proceeding to pour his heart out to her when she finally comes back to him, the only response Fran has for him is "cut the cards", a joke concerning the unfinished gin game the two have throughout the movie. Then the credits roll. Wilder ends his film without any confirmation that Baxter and Fran end up together, a move even Woody Allen would consider too cynical. Yet, leaving it up to the audience's imagination (while the majority of people, the optimists, would see Fran's return as a sign that they will end up together, the ending can most certainly be read as sign that while the two absolutely should be together, they absolutely never will) somehow works in this film. For every cute, romantic scene, such as the famous dinner Baxter prepares for Fran while nursing her back to health (straining spaghetti with a tennis racket) there is one of melancholy and cynicism, such as Baxter getting drunk with a stranger at a bar, trying to bring her back to his apartment, only to find that it is in use. This film serves as both a pinnacle for Billy Wilder (he won three Oscars for it, writing, directing and producing it) and also a turning point. While he was never a fluffy director, even his more light hearted comedies, like "Sabrina" and "Love in the Afternoon" feature attempted suicide, adultery and other dark topics not usually found in frothy entertainment, from here on, he only made films like these, sweet confections with a bitter aftertaste. And while he had worked for nearly 30 years to this point and would work for nearly 20 more, "The Apartment", directly on the heels of his other masterpiece "Some Like It Hot", is his undisputed apex.