The Lost Weekend (1945)

• Review: **** (out of ****)
• Starring: Ray Milland, Jane Wyman, Phillip Terry, Howard Da Silva, Doris Dowling, Frank Faylen, Mary Young, Anita Sharp-Bolster, Lillian Fontaine, Frank Orth, Lewis L. Russell
• Director: Billy Wilder
• Screenplay: Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder (Novel: by Charles R. Jackson)
• Length: 101 min.
• MPAA Rating: Approved

A bottle: symbol of everything the alcoholic holds dear. Ithangs by a thread from the window of a supposedly-recovering addict. Can it berescued by love alone or is it destined to smash into pieces on the concretebelow. The Lost Weekend follows a manwhose life is like the bottle he’s dangled from the sill.

Don Birnam (Ray Milland) is supposed to take a weekend withhis brother Wick (Phillip Terry) away from temptation where he further try torecover from his addiction. His girlfriend Helen (Jane Wyman) hopes he can comeback to her a changed man. They hope that love alone will guide Don back fromthe brink of destruction. Don is hopelessly restricted by his love for alcoholbut faces great scrutiny as he lies and cheats his way through his own perilousordeal.

The Lost Weekend begins with a Don whose grip on reality has tightened. He’s managed to last fora short period of time with his brother watching like an eagle over his activities.However, alcohol hasn’t lost its hold on him. He’s taken to hiding bottleseverywhere around the apartment in hopes that maybe one of his hiding placeswon’t be uncovered. Try though he might, Don can’t relinquish the controldrinking has on him and, after one instance of self sabotage, he’s left at homealone to deal with his problems for the entire weekend.

Milland’s performance is unquestionably perfect. Hismiraculous descent into the dark places of alcohol addiction is mesmerizing.You want to hate him for what he’s doing to himself, recognizing all the signsof alcoholism but you also can’t help but empathize with his struggle. Wyman’sperformance is still strong despite appearing in markedly little of thepicture. Her ability to convey the love Helen feels towards Don fundamentallycounter balances his rough ride.

Is love alone strong enough to prevent Don’s certaindestruction or is the power of the addiction more than it can handle. The Lost Weekend explores in greatdetail this concept. While it’s more focused on the actual fall into theirretrievable abyss, it nonetheless makes potent statements about the peril ofalcohol abuse.

Director Billy Wilder does marvelous things with his cameraas he follows Don on his downward spiral. His collaboration with screenwriterCharles Brackett is no less intense. Based on the novel by Charles R. Jackson, The Lost Weekend grabs a hold of you atthe start and never lets go. It does to the audience what alcohol does to theprotagonist.

There’s no question that, hot on the heels of World War II, The Lost Weekend was a daring choice forAcademy members. It isn’t the kind of film that brings joy or happiness to theviewer’s life. It only brings a harsh understanding of what a powerfulsubstance like alcohol can do to a person’s psyche. The Lost Weekend remains one of the bravest choices in Academyhistory and is a must see for anyone who has a loved one with or is concernedabout alcoholism.

-Wesley Lovell (October 24, 2006)