Click here for the review of The Lost Weekend (1945)

Best Picture winner at the 1946 Oscar ceremony.

Another Wilder flick that I need to make time for; loved both Stalag 17 and Sunset Blvd.. Sounds like I should at least like this one.

This was a fine review. Although time is limited, it's generally nice to see some research go into a critique rather than summing up only the gut reaction. Placing The Lost Weekend in the dual contexts of 1940s/2000s America is essential and, in this case, has lead to one of the better reviews of the past 8 months.

Yeah that was a very nice job of comparing and contrasting the two different eras, and specifically using Requiem for a Dream as a modern-day example of what audiences might expect from a movie of this sort (although Leaving Las Vegas, would have been perhaps an even more appropriate example).

I agree completely. I remember first watching this on TV as a kid, maybe 40 years ago. It was a revelation then. Today, I would agree with JB that the ending is too simplistic. But that doesn't take anything away from a great performance by Ray Milland, who really nails this role, matched only perhaps by Jack Lemmon in Days of Wine and Roses.

I like the ending more than JB and silk because I think it rings terribly hollow, in the way an alcoholic's promises always do. Does anyone truly believe he's giving up drinking for good? Christ no.

In the real world, no. But I think the tone of the movie is such that we (the viewers) are supposed to believe that he has put alcoholism behind him.

The interesting thing about the ending is the reflective statement it makes about creative storytelling. The most fascinating element of Milland's character is his frustration writing. At the end, he realizes the ordeal he's gone through can be turned into a powerful story. Sometimes a writer's inspiration must come from his demons.