Critical Comparison

Neumann 1

Neumann 2

Maria Neumann

J. Gleason

Cinema 26

Mar. 2, 2020

Midterm Proposal

Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard from 1950 gives us a new outlook on noir films. This film isn’t the traditional crime investigation content. The plot focuses on how the talent of a star dies out without her realizing it. As she enlists the help of a young aspiring writer, holding him in her mansion, she manipulates him to make her feel like the star she once was. The scene where Joe stumbles on the driveway of Norma’s mansion as he is being chased by the people trying to take his car and the mansion seems to be abandoned. When he gets out of the car to explore the house, which seems to be more a haunted house by its condition reminds me of a similar scene in Alex Garland’s Ex Machina from 2014. As Kevin arrives at his boss’s house, which is very secluded and far away from everything, we can see that there’s something fishy going on. Especially since when he arrives it’s gloomy and the environment seems blue. Much like in Sunset Boulevard, Ex Machina follows the story of a man being manipulated by someone else that seems to know more about what is really happening around them.