West Side Story: 1961

The first time I saw West Side Story I was a freshman in high school. My English class had just finished studying and putting on our own production of Romeo and Juliet, so our teacher decided to show us West Side Story as a modern adaptation of Shakespeare's story. I remember preferring West Side Story solely because Maria is so much stronger than Juliet, but other than that, I don't remember much about my opinion of the film.

I watched the film again during grad school and analyzed the use of light and dark in various scenes as part of a comparison paper for my film class. Watching the film that time I realized just how closely the directors, Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise, used the imagery in the play in the film. Unfortunately, I have never had a chance to see a live production of the musical, which is how the creators intended the story to be seen, so I don't know how closely what Robbins and Wise did mirrors the Broadway production.

During this viewing, the blatant prejudice on the part of the police stood out to me the most. That may be due to what's currently happening in our country, with Ferguson and other stories of police prejudice. In West Side Story, Detective Schrank outright says that he hates the Puerto Ricans and wants them gone. He even offers to help the Jets in their fight against the Sharks. His prejudice reflects what was happening in New York at that time, how immigrants were hated and blamed for problems, which unfortunately happens today in our country. The song "America" best captures this sentiment (and is one of my favorites from the musical):

I'd like to say that our society has improved since 1961, that the Civil Rights Movement made a substantial difference in how people are treated, but I'm not sure that's the case. It seems like every step we take forward in equal rights, we have people who fight this progress and pass laws at the local level (like Indiana's religious freedom law) that actually allow people to mistreat those who are different from them. If only we could learn from stories like Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story that hate is not the answer; hate will only bring us down and ruin our lives.

The Apartment: 1960

Jack Lemmon stars in The Apartment, the story of a regular guy working for an insurance company in an entry-level position who rises through the ranks by providing his apartment to philandering executives looking for a cozy place to take their lovers. Based on this premise, I had reservations about this film. It's basically a story of people using each other, but Lemmon's portrayal of CC Baxter makes the character so endearing. He's just a regular guy who found himself in a difficult position: either allow these executives use of his apartment or lose his job. Yes, he does have several promotions as a result of letting them use his apartment, but there's always the underlying threat of termination. And Baxter is a "yes man"; if the boss asks for something, Baxter is sure to do it.

The film does seem like a surprising pick for Best Picture because it doesn't seem as serious as previous ones and doesn't seem to do anything unique for the film style, but perhaps the film was selected because of the content being so controversial for the time period. The free love '60s hadn't started, and the '50s were a time of the "perfect" family...maybe that's why this film was so fitting for the time. It shows that marriages were not perfect, and successful married men had hidden affairs, claiming they needed these affairs for their happiness. Baxter, though, is a romantic. He doesn't approve of what these men are doing (even though letting them use his apartment enables them), and for himself, he wants to find love. When he does find love, Baxter unfortunately picks a woman who is involved in one of these affairs. Initially, Fran, played by Shirley MacLaine (who I hadn't seen in a role early in her career), seems sassy and independent, but she is easily manipulated by one of these married men all in the name of love. I felt sorry for Fran. She really believes that the men she loves will love her back, and she doesn't realize that Baxter is a good guy deep down. It's her story and how she becomes connected with Baxter that engaged me in this film. The first 30 minutes or so I wasn't sure I wanted to keep watching, but once Baxter met Fran and their friendship began, I had to watch to find out if these two would end up together. I won't spoil that for you...you'll have to watch to find out if they do.

The Apartment is worth watching if only to see Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine together.

Gigi: 1958

Sometimes I think it might be a good idea to preview a film before watching, and in the case of Gigi, I would have known that I was going to watch a musical starring French actress Leslie Caron, who I know from Father Goose. While I really enjoy musicals, I like to know ahead of time if I'm going to watch one. Musicals, for me, require a different viewing mindset.

Gigi is basically a romance, set in Paris, that follows the life of Gigi as she matures from a silly school girl into a charming young woman, according to what her aunt deems as charming. The film explores what love really means. In the case of Gigi's aunt, love is shown through jewels from admirers, not through marriage. Gigi, however, seems more interested in true love. The difficulties she faces, though, is Parisian society in 1900 and being in love with a man (Gaston) who prefers lovers over having a wife.

The shocking part of Gigi was the discussion of suicide. Gaston learns that his lover is cheating on him, and he confronts her lover and ends the relationship. As a result of the public embarrassment, the woman kills herself, and Gaston is actually praised by his uncle for his first suicide. It was really appalling, and the only redeeming aspect is that Gaston does seem to feel some guilt over the suicide. His uncle advises him to remain in the public and move on as usual, and while Gaston does as his uncle says, he is reluctant and eventually stops the whirlwind partying. Gaston is a character who is easy to dislike; he is rich and arrogant and doesn't treat women with respect, except for Gigi because she's so different than the others. It's only through his relationship with Gigi and the kindness he shows her mother that he becomes a decent man.

I should mention some of the songs in the film. Two in particular are quite well known. The film opens with "Thank Heaven for Little Girls", sung by the uncle:

The uncle also acts as the narrator throughout the film, telling the audience Gigi's story and interacting with his nephew Gaston.

The other well-known song is "I Remember It Well", performed by the uncle and Gigi's mother:

In this song, the uncle's character is definitely revealed. He is a thoughtless man who uses his charm to woo women. At one time, Gigi's mother fell for his charm, but she realizes what he is like and leaves him. Although Gigi seems like a strong woman at times in the film, it seems that her strength is the result of her mother's strength, which is more subtle. Her mother is a realist; she knows that because they are not wealthy, Gigi will not have as many options in life. She also knows that Gigi dating Gaston is going to be fully covered in the society pages (think paparazzi) and that dating Gaston may mean that Gigi will have fewer options after the relationship ends. Her mother's acknowledgment and sharing of this information with Gigi makes the mother strong because Gigi sees that she has a choice, even if that choice means less money for them.

Overall, Gigi was surprising to me. As a musical, the songs were flirty and upbeat, but the actual storyline had dark moments. This contrast made the film more realistic, as life has ups and downs and love is not easy.