The Apartment
1960 · Directed by Billy Wilder
Original language: English
- comedy
- drama
- romance
The story
Bud Baxter is a minor clerk in a huge New York insurance company, until he discovers a quick way to climb the corporate ladder. He lends out his apartment to the executives as a place to take their mistresses. Although he often has to deal with the aftermath of their visits, one night he's left with a major problem to solve.
What it’s like
Black-and-white widescreen compositions that feel crisp and deliberately staged, with the office rendered as endless rows of identical desks under flat fluorescent light and the apartment as a warm, cluttered bachelor flat where a single lamp or the glow of a New York winter window does most of the work. Wilder's camera moves with a clever, almost choreographed precision, cutting between tight two-shots and deep-focus corridors so that every hallway feels like a trap. The score is brassy and playful, a light, jaunty undercurrent that turns quietly wistful once the mood darkens, and the snowy streets and holiday-season air give the whole thing a bittersweet, wintry chill. Its vibe is wry melancholy with a sharp, romantic heart, the kind of comedy that gets funnier and sadder at the same time. It suits a cold evening in, a comfort rewatch, or a late-night watch with a drink. The tone is witty and cynical about corporate life while tender about two lonely people slowly finding each other. Intensity is low: there is a suicide attempt handled with restraint and no on-screen gore, plus adult innuendo and infidelity played for irony rather than explicitness. It is for people who love sharp dialogue, old-Hollywood craft, and romance that trusts its audience to feel something.
More films like The Apartment
Closest in mood, pacing and theme. Tell us why you loved The Apartmentand we’ll explain which ones fit you.
