Blog Three, Number-wise

The Apartment wasn't so much a fast read as it was a laborious one. This is obviously because of the profuse use of description and report. Clearly, the extensive use of these modes of presentation in the screenplay was put in because Billy Wilder was not only the screenwriter, but the director as well. The screenplay left nothing to the imagination. This became more and more acceptable as the story progressed because visualizing the scene so clearly let the dialog, which was the strongest part of the screenplay, flourish.
Buddy Boy starts out weak, flutters around as a coward and grows unlikable and annoying. As he "grows" he uses false bravado to mask the overwhelming manipulation by his coworkers. It takes him losing everything, including his dignity, pride and manhood for him to step up and act like a responsible adult. I believe everything played out a little too conveniently and this angered me until I decided that if he wants to spend the rest of his life with a suicidal, illiterate woman who has no problem being on the easy side of an affair then so be it.
The story is entertaining despite being predictable. I feel that the unique use of so much description and report is only used because the screenwriter was also the director.

Discussion Questions:
1. Despite there being so much description and report, was there anything else that stood out as different in this screenplay?
2. McKee says that the true character is revealed in the choices a human makes under pressure. What was the defining choice in The Apartment and what did it say about Buddy Boy's true nature.

-Jon Perez