The Apartment (1960)

I rented this movie based solely on the recommendation of the Academy—they awarded the film five Oscars, including Best Picture, in 1961.

The film tells the story of C.C. Baxter, low man on the totem pole in a prestigious New York insurance company. Dissatisfied with his inferior status, Baxter attempts to ingratiate himself with the higher-ups of the company by letting them use his apartment for their secret affairs. But things get complicated when the married head of the company, and Baxter’s direct supervisor, demands to use the apartment in order to seduce the girl that Baxter loves. If Baxter refuses, he’ll lose his job and everything he’s ever worked for; he realizes that he won’t be able to maintain his career and also get the girl.

Part romantic comedy, part tragedy, and part character study, the film deals with dark themes of infidelity, divorce and suicide while somehow maintaining a light and cavalier facade. The story was incredibly original never succumbing to rom-com convention or formula. The ending was uncertain, and until the final few frames the outcome was still capricious and unforeseeable.

The acting by film legends Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine and Fred MacMurray is superbly believable: Lemmon as the bumbling wannabe torn between a lucrative executive position and a passionate love, MacLaine as the woman desperately in love with a married man, and MacMurray as the unfaithful boss who makes life miserable for the protagonist. Each character is wonderfully flawed and nuanced.

The dialogue is both playfully witty and bitingly sarcastic. Cynicism proliferates as the characters deal with their marriage-ruining and life-altering choices. Every line of dialogue they deliver only deepens and illuminates their personalities and worldviews; not one is out of place (even a sneaky reference to the director’s 1945 Oscar-winning film, “The Lost Weekend,” works well in context). The conversation draws you into the action, making you feel like an active participant in the characters’ lives. In addition to the clever dialogue, the film also bursts with fun visual touches like an overflowing champagne bottle, a tennis racket being used as a spaghetti strainer, and an extended comedic scene involving the modeling of an “executive” hat.

The film was shot in black and white despite technological advancements of the day. The colorless cinematography brilliantly captured each environment and setting, giving it an old-fashioned and classical feel.

The movie is restrained in terms of inappropriate content; however, the dialogue is laced with some graphic innuendo and suggestion, and most people I know would not want their kids watching this. While neither outrightly condemned nor overtly condoned, the effects of suicide and infidelity are explored; the filmmakers seem to reach the conclusion that neither is the best option. The film is guaranteed to leave you thoughtful, bemused, and perhaps even a little sad (can a story about infidelity ever truly be happy?).

The question I usually ask after I finish watching a Best Picture winner is this: “should it really have won?” Not having seen the other nominees of the year, it’s hard to say for sure. But “The Apartment” is a near-perfect movie. Its flaws are far outweighed by its many strengths. It fully deserves all the accolades it received. This classic is definitely worth a watch.