Billy Wilder's The Apartment is pure moviemaking bliss that only he knows how to do. The movie stars Jack Lemmon as a nobody insurance agent who rents out his apartment to his bosses for several hours so they have somewhere to take their mistresses. He finds himself attracted to the elevator girl Shirley MacLaine, who unfortunately finds herself attracted to Lemmon's married boss, Fred MacMurray. Our hearts fill with empathy for Lemmon, seemingly the nicest man on earth, willing to sacrifice everything for others, and with sympathy for MacLaine, trapped by her love to a married man. And we find ourselves believing and trusting MacMurray. Every character is pitch perfect, achingly so.Being written by Billy Wilder, the dialogue is flawless. While his writing makes every character endearing, it is the actors who make them full and rich and real. They are flawed, but so are we, and we see ourselves in the people on the screen. And we don't want to leave them when the movie ends. While Wilder writes a human story we can all relate to, he shoots it with the utmost precision. The cinematography in this movie is stunning; it is miles above every other romantic comedy I've seen. He lets scenes play out in mid and wide shots. He leaves room to breathe in long takes with dynamic blocking. He keeps the editing to a minimum and paces the film without a wasted second.
All in all, The Apartment is one of the finest romantic comedies ever made. Although not as high on my personal favorites as Roman Holiday and Annie Hall, it definitely beats out Chasing Amy and Knocked Up. They really knew how to make 'em back then. Especially Billy Wilder.
IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053604/