The Apartment

Billy Wilder’s Christmas classic, starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine, is a beautifully sweet and heartachingly warm story of connection between two people who are both being taken advantage of in the hopes of achieving their dreams. Together they give each other the strength to break free and find happiness together. The story follows an insurance clerk, C.C Baxter (Lemmon), and elevator operator Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine) as they become intertwined because of their boss’ behaviour. The film deals with themes not often explored in the typical Christmas film – themes of class, and workplace exploitation are at the forefront of the film, however Wilder’s brilliant and witty writing combined with Lemmon’s great comedic timing give the film the levity it needs. The character of Fran Kubelik is one of Wilder’s most touching characters and MacLaine’s performance is nuanced and sensitive. The Apartment is often forgotten as a Hollywood classic, but it certainly shouldn’t be overlooked. The cinematography is lovely, and the story is sweet. It will warm your heart on a cold winter's night.

Marnie McCrudden

One of many Billy Wilder’s masterpieces, The Apartment carries the audience back to the 60s with the aid of Adolf Deutsch’s jazzy melancholic soundtrack and the outstanding performances by Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine as C. C. Baxter and Fran Kubelik, the two starry-eyed lovers of Wilder’s sentimental tale.

Baxter is a passive, acquiescent young man with big ambitions, yet stuck at the desk number 861 on the 19th floor of an insurance company, in between rows and rows of identical desks, with people fulfilling the same duties.

In this alienating and dehumanising environment Baxter aspires to stand out from the anonymous mass and reach the higher floors of the building, obtaining the key to the executives’ washroom. To achieve his aspirations, Baxter lends his apartment to married colleagues in higher positions for them to use as a place where to take girls at night, obtaining in turn the recommendations he needs to advance his career. However, in the same elevator he takes every morning to get to his designated floor, he meets Fran, the elevator girl with whom he inevitably falls in love.

With an Academy Award for best picture, director, original screenplay, art direction and editing, The Apartment asserts itself as one the most enchanting, light-hearted films on the humanity of love in a world revolving around wealth and public image. Because that’s the way it crumbles, cookie-wise.

Marta Meazza