Suman Roberson It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Frances Chung Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Ian (Flash Reviews)Thrust into a man's mind who is literally perspiring to get a drink. A man so consumed with the thought of drinking or where and when his next drink will come that the whole town, family and friends are aware and either help or reluctantly enable him. He really just wants to be a writer but thoughts of drinking always distract him. The director really gets you into granular details of the desperation this man who is constantly in need of a drink. Details such as seeing liquid ring residue of each shot he's taken at a bar or secret hiding places he hides bottles from his family. It shows the effect on family and friends, not in a preachy way, but very realistic so I tip my hat to the screenplay writers. Looks like this was before AA was a reality...? One of the most intense and gritty tales of an alcoholic I've even seen and this was done in 1945!

oOoBarracuda I often take a fair bit of flack for listing The Lost Weekend as my favorite Billy Wilder film. With a career spanning over a dozen classics, The Lost Weekend, which took home top prize at the Oscar's in 1945, is often overlooked in Billy Wilder's accomplished filmography. The Lost Weekend isn't just my favorite Billy Wilder film, it's one of my favorite films of all time. Starring the ever alluring Ray Milland and Jane Wyman, the story of an alcoholic struggling through a 4-day drinking binge is a heartbreaking to watch. Don Birnam, (Ray Milland) is an alcoholic who has recently begun the road to recovery, or so he pretends. When his brother Wick (Phillip Terry) plans a weekend away in the country with Don and his girlfriend Helen St. James (Jane Wyman) the thought of being away from the bottle with no chance of a drink becomes overwhelming to Don. Maybe all Don needs is a send-off from the bar to get him through the long weekend. Manipulating Helen, who loves Don dearly despite his addiction, he convinces her to take his brother to a show promising to leave on the train for the country when they return. Once Don is in front of the bartender he loses all track of time, missing the train and his brother who took an angry cab ride home after being stood up by Don. Don spends a great deal of time reminiscing about his life as a young writer. Don abandoned college after a story he wrote sold to a magazine, only to find that same amount of success unattainable to him in his mid- thirties. Stopping at nothing to drown his sorrows about the unhappiness of his writing career and his life, Don's weekend binge leads him to the hospital, then back at home as he contemplates the only option for him that will seem to make everyone happy.The most obvious statement of the day is that Billy Wilder was a phenomenal director. He had a controlled yet inviting relationship with the camera that I truly appreciate. My favorite shot in cinema history is tucked into The Lost Weekend. The first time we see Don in the bar, it is indicated that time is passing solely by additional rings from his glass appearing on the table. The subtle beauty yet despair contained in that shot makes me pause the film at that moment each time I watch it just to be able to appreciate it for a few extra seconds. Wilder also captures a brilliant shot of a reflection in the mirror near the end of the film that allows Hellen to see just how dire Don's situation has become. There were also a couple scenes involving visions that were incredible. The scene of Don at the opera where he longs for the alcohol he stashed in his checked coat so badly he begins to imagine scores of his overcoat parading on stage was a dream to watch. Don also has a breakdown before falling asleep once back at his home where he imagines a mouse climbing out of a hole in his wall only to be attacked by a bat in his apartment perfectly illustrating the futile effort Don felt against the much more aggressive opponent of his alcoholism that he was facing. As for capturing the perils of addiction, The Lost Weekend succeeds tenfold. The Lost Weekend is a perfect double bill along with Otto Preminger's The Man with the Golden Arm which explores the life of a heroin addict. The Lost Weekend displays the family of the addict which is often a mix of enabling and tough love, the film illustrates the rage the addict often experiences when too many obstacles impede their next fix and the desperation of exhausting every seemingly available opportunity to get it. The audience is invited into Don Birnam's life when the camera pans his apartment windows from the outside before following the string attached to a bottle into his apartment. The string hiding a fix is a perfect metaphor for what Don's life has become. His life teeters on a precipice of resuming his writing career and settling down with Hellen or sinking deeper and deeper towards the bottle where "one (drink) is too many and 100 is not enough". We begin the emotional ride of the film outside of Don't life, then invited in for an intimate look at the weekend in which Don must make the decision that will dictate the rest of his life.This brings me to the Ray Milland portion of this review. I love Ray Milland, and The Lost Weekend was the first film I saw of his. I was sold on his style immediately and only grew to love him more when Dial M for Murder became another personal favorite. His reserved command of the screen works for me on every level. Milland's name is one I don't hear nearly as often as I'd like to hear thrown around as a screen great of the Golden Age of Hollywood. His portrayal of Don Birnam which goes from the brink of despair complete with tears and screaming to the acceptance of an existence beyond alcohol was more than deserving of a gold statuette at the '45 Oscars, as well as a place in my heart for eternity. Maybe it was Ray Milland's perfect portrayal of an alcoholic that kept me from taking even one drink my entire life, who knows.

elvircorhodzic LOST WEEKEND is a film about the state of life of any man. In general, every life is full of ups and downs. Alcoholism, as a kind of escape from his own life is more than stable. Lack of self-confidence, poverty and lack of understanding are just some factors with which the main character struggles. Alcohol is a deadly rescue. The story is quite realistic and morbid. The main protagonist is a split personality. We get to know him through the illustration of a drunk and writer in the attempt. I have to admit that this movie at first viewing fascinating.I have to admit that the minor characters have been pretty naive. I have the impression that the main protagonist and bottles of alcohol tell a story, while minor characters just go and get lost. Practically everything is told in a couple of days where we can see how a man touches a human and moral bottom. Unwritten parts of the novel through flashbacks working perfectlyRay Milland as Don Birnam is simply brilliant. He revealed the ugly nature of man, through the degradation of life, weakness and shame.Jane Wyman as Helen St. James had the demanding role of loyal girls. In this case, love knows no boundaries. The lack of emotion is so obvious and I her character can not imagine as a kind of salvation or the voice of reason.Other characters are "stations" on the road to environmental ruin. Caring and exemplary brother who miraculously evaporate at the beginning of the film. Ironic and gritty bartender, sadistic medic or girl in love at the bar.Lost Weekend is a very honest and disturbing drama. The musical score perfectly corresponded to the theme of the film. I must say that I am not satisfied with the contrived happy ending. The main protagonist in 5 minutes free his life of suffering. It's all in the decision, but the decision came suddenly and utterly illogical.

mamalv What a movie and what a performance by Ray Milland. Don Birnam is an alcoholic writer who just can't get started on anything. He is brilliant and tortured by his own alcoholic demons. This is based on the true life of the writer Charles Jackson. If ever there was a more truthful look at a drunk, this is probably the best. The only other true look would be The Days of Wine and Roses. There are many light moments where Milland goes into line after line of how he wound up this way. How his brother Wick had given him a place to live and a few dollars for shows and smokes. Jane Wyman is the long suffering girlfriend who won't give up on him. Sometimes we feel that she won't give up because she needs to be right for him and herself. I like Howard DeSilva as the bartender Nate. Even though we despise him for giving the booze to Don, we really feel he does in some way care for this man. He along with Wyman see touches of a really wonderful mind being wasted in a bottle. Milland lost a lot of weight to play this part that was turned down by numerous big stars. He is still so handsome that even when he is in the depths of a alcoholic weekend we wish he would clean up and get back to his life. Many people do not realize that the street shots were from hidden cameras in store fronts and vans. So many people really thought that Milland staggering along was really drunk. In fact some people called the studio to warn them about his bender. Magnificent as he was in this film we had always wished that he had more dramatic parts like this one. The industry just never gave him the best of the best. Well deserved Oscar for this great actor.