Movie Watch

I caught a little bit of Days of Wine and Roses last night, a film that stars Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick as an average sliced-white-bread American married couple slowly succumbing to horrific alcoholism. Of particular note is Lemmon's relapses, which are both built up and led into in a way such that you know they're going to occur, and yet they are no easier to watch. Lemmon is at his absolute best. He is unafraid to depict an alcoholic at his most desperate, portraying him as a creature who's lost all their humanity and truly lives for one thing - more booze. He pleads, rages, crawls, bawls, has a temper-tantrum, and utterly debases himself - it's truly more horrifying than most scary movies, and is a testament to the great actor's skill. The glimpse I saw of the movie reveals one that is not enjoyable to watch, but should be watched - because in the end, the purpose of some cinema is not to entertain. Lemmon claws at us, challenging us, and tearing apart the complacent and zombie-like attitude that we all too often adopt when we sit down to watch movies.