Wednesday, June 21, 2006
EYE OPENER
The first major film to take alcoholism seriously and accurately was Billy Wilder's
with Ray Milland and Jane Wyman.
As an insider, I can tell you that it is dead on as far as the disease is concerned.
In addition, it is a dramatic tour de force which holds you tightly as the progression of a drunk proceeds through a full weekend.
Amusingly, it is an alcoholic's definition of a weekend; five days; starts on Thursday and ends on Monday or maybe Tuesday. Nothing is made of this in the picture, but I caught it.
It is a NYTimes Best Film, of course. It is famous.
And I never saw it.
It is unlikely that it would make any difference to a full blown alkie but it would sure alert the people around him as to what not to do.
On the other hand, lower bottom, problem drinkers might get the message and try to get some recovery.
This is a pre-AA film. The Program would have been ten years old about this time.
There are no detoxes except of the nut-ward kind; little understanding of the now available technology of treatment.
It is a very good film.
Oddly, it is not hard to sit through as an insider. It is all familiar territory. If you have hung out with recovering alcoholics for 27 years, you have heard and seen everything.
I will give it a 5 out of Netflix5.
