Movie Review – The Days of Wine and Roses

Days of Wine and Roses (1962) – A public relations man (Jack Lemmon) falls in love with the secretary of a client (Lee Remick).  His alcoholism becomes their alcoholism and their lives spin out of control.  Nominated for five Oscars (including both Best Actor and Actress) wining once for the Henry Mancini score.

Most of us associate Jack Lemmon with lighter comedy roles so this one is a change of pace.  He was a favorite of director Billy Wilder, working on films like “Some Like It Hot”, “The Apartment” and “The Front Page”.  Like a lot of great comic actors he brings emotional depth to his more serious roles.  That’s a great asset in a film that takes on a subject that Hollywood generally avoided, alcoholism  at home.  In fact, the Warner Bros. studio had serious reservations about the ending.  The cast and crew were so concerned that the ending would be changed they filmed the movie in order (standard procedure would have them do all the scenes on a certain set at the same time as a time and cost saving measure) and Jack Lemmon left the country immediately after the last shot was completed so he couldn’t be called back for a re-shoot.

The advertising tag line for the movie was “This, in its own terrifying way, is a love story.“

“Days of Wine and Roses” offers a variety of discordant aspects in the film.  The gentle, smooth sound of Mancini’s score, especially the theme song against the deepening anguish of the story line create a perfect environment for the characters.  Lemmon and Remick create characters that you can’t help but like even as you watch them destroy themselves.  The movie begins with a smooth, polished feel but director Blake Edwards lets the aesthetic of the movie to shift as their lives descend into madness.

Not a light time at the movies but an amazing movie.

Rating – **** Recommended