Starring: Ray Milland, Jane Wyman, Phillip Terry, Howard Da Silva, Doris Dowling, Frank Faylen, Mary Young, Anita Sharp-Bolster
Review: The Lost Weekend is a powerful, uncompromising look at the devastating effects of alcoholism. Ray Milland's haunting portrayal of a would-be writer's dissatisfaction with his life leads him on a self-destructive three-day binge.
Winner of 4 Oscars, (Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director and Best Screenplay) The Lost Weekend is a true testament to the brilliance of Billy Wilder. Wilder's screenplay, co-written with author Charles Brackett, doesn't romanticize Don Birnam's battle with the bottle. Birnam (Ray Milland) starts the movie off as a tense, irritable man that has only one thing on his mind - his next drink. And yet you feel for him, feel sorry for him, hate him, and, at times, really want him to stop drinking and get everything back on track.
Ray Milland's performance is Oscar worth, without a doubt. He plays this would-be writer who's fallen into a pit of despair that doesn't appear to have a way out so well that it's actually scary at times. He seems sad, frightened, ashamed, angry, and hopeless as he tries to deal with his debilitating alcoholism. He's just remarkable in the role. Truly one of greatest screen performances of all time!
And Jane Wyman, in one of her best roles, plays Birnam's loyal girlfriend that can't ever give up one him no matter how bad things get in this poor man's drunken drama. She is wonderful as Helen St. James, almost angelic in a way. I rather enjoy her dedication to a man who's falling apart. You really do believe that she loves him through it all.
This is a movie that I've always wanted to see and now I'm so glad I did. It's a "classic" in ever sense of the word. I know that the plot of The Lost Weekend doesn't seem like a fun, film-going experience, but trust me - it's a movie filled with writing, directing, and acting that makes movies worth watching. It's a movie that you'll never forget! A true masterpiece in storytelling.