# Sunset Boulevard



## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Let's turn this thing around. Let's also assume there will be spoilers, so if you haven't seen the movie, let the reader beware!

First of all, why a dead chimpanzee? Of all the things it could've been - a dead cat, dog, bird... - why a chimpanzee? And does it matter that it's dead?


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

Because William Holden's character was the chimp's replacement.


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

Yeah, he was the replacement monkey, well said. The fact that it was a chimp and not a cat or a dog tells the viewer that the owner is eccentric, reinforces the removed-from-reality Hollywood star aspect. The funeral is grotesque, we wouldn't have been so unnerved with the funeral of a cat. We need to be unnerved at that point so that the excitement stays up. Swanson's character is removed from reality in both positive and negative ways: she is an idealist and truly believes in the power of art, but of course she cannot handle true reality (and real people) at all.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

_Is_ the funeral grotesque? Would we have been less unnerved by an adult woman having an elaborate funeral for any other kind of pet - a parrot, a hamster, whatever?

Let's introduce a new subject. Other than showing off some nice cinematography (the scene looking up at the floating body took some ingenuity), is there any point in having the body land in the pool? Is it a symbol of baptism, purification...? Why not have the body land in a garden, or on a sidewalk, or fall into the car, or into a pile of papers, or any number of things?


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

The chimp is definitely more eccentric than a parrot, hamster, etc. Certainly, it's a less common pet, and it sets up the metaphor with Joe Gillis better.

The pool death is probably just more dramatic than any alternative. I wouldn't be surprised if people see symbolism in it - you can find symbolism anywhere if you look for it, and water can be read in many ways - but my guess is it was done purely for the cinematography.


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

I'll re-watch the movie before participating substantively in this thread, but let me just say in the meantime that chimpanzees are very dangerous and should _not_ be considered pets, even eccentric ones.


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

Listened to the original recording for the first time last week, and I really enjoyed it! Have not seen any film or staging of it however.


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

One of the keys to the movie is that Holden is a "50's actor"; cool, cold, realistic, underacting, while Swanson is a "20's actress"; dramatic, exaggerating, overflowing with passion, overacting. Holden landing in the pool finally gives this fellow some drama. His style of dying should have been something like hit by a car, but Swanson finally confirms her hold on him by giving him a death that's more like her style. Doesn't Holden say something like "Life... can be wonderful!", fooling around impromptu acting with that girl, mocking old-style Hollywood dialogue? Well, Swanson sure tried to make his life more "wonderful", and failing that, made at least his death quite "wonderful".


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