mostly david ephgrave

Here I was, about to write a blog about watching the Billy Wilder film 'The Apartment', when I did a quick search to discover I wrote one on the subject the last time I saw it. While I obviously felt suitably inspired to discuss how much I enjoyed it and how good I thought Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine's performances were, there isn't much point when I've already covered it. Such is the nature of writing a blog nearly every day for the past five years: it's more likely than not that any topic you're interested in you've already deliberated to some extent, particularly for an excuse to fill a page when your inspiration's a little tested. The only thing I want to reiterate is how great Jack Lemmon is in it; he's effortlessly and undeniably  brilliant without missing a beat. It's the sort of performance that makes me wish I was in the film myself (this, even though it was made twenty-one years before I was born); it's real while also...

I watched the Billy Wilder film The Apartment for the first time tonight. I’ve loved Jack Lemmon in everything I’ve seen him in, and this was no exception. He brings warmth to every character he plays and is always in complete control of his performance. He makes being awkward look strangely effortless, often throwing in little bits of subtle comedy business that seem an accident at first glance. I find it strange that I haven’t watched many Shirley MacLaine films, despite her being such a well-known name. Like Lemmon, she brings lots of warmth and sweetness to her character; though I was sure she’d see that MacMurray’s selfish Mr Sheldrake wasn't worth it by the end, the outside chance that she wouldn’t was a worry. Then I remembered which two actors were pictured skipping into to distance hand in hand on the poster and realised I had no cause for concern. It would be too miserable an outcome if they didn’t work things out. Like that o...