Up until The Lost Weekend, alcoholism was seldom seriously addressed by Hollywood. So, in that sense, it is an important groundbreaking film. Also, unlike past portrayals of drinking (such as W. C. Fields) in films, this is much more realistic and gritty--particularly when they show people in the hospital going through the agonies of withdrawal. This is the BEST aspect of the movie, along with all the broken promises and games Milland plays with those around him.
Unfortunately, the movie HAD to slap a pat ending on the film, as movies seldom were allowed to end on a sour or indefinite note in the 1940s. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE cinema of the 1940s (far more than recent movies), but this was one serious shortcoming films of that era had--the Hollywood ending even when it was not realistic or sometimes compromised the integrity of the film (as in this case). Milland, after a long weekend bender, announces he's now "got it licked" and everything is peachy! Give me a break--this sure sounds like the phony self-serving thinking I so often encountered when I worked with addicts in a substance abuse program!! This is only the first step in a long, difficult road to recovery.
For an even better film about alcoholism, try Days of Wine and Roses.
Unfortunately, the movie HAD to slap a pat ending on the film, as movies seldom were allowed to end on a sour or indefinite note in the 1940s. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE cinema of the 1940s (far more than recent movies), but this was one serious shortcoming films of that era had--the Hollywood ending even when it was not realistic or sometimes compromised the integrity of the film (as in this case). Milland, after a long weekend bender, announces he's now "got it licked" and everything is peachy! Give me a break--this sure sounds like the phony self-serving thinking I so often encountered when I worked with addicts in a substance abuse program!! This is only the first step in a long, difficult road to recovery.
For an even better film about alcoholism, try Days of Wine and Roses.