rodrig58 Unique roles for Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick, usually they act in comedies but this is a solid drama. Together with Charles Bickford, they give three high-acting performances. Especially Lee Remick, she is unrecognizable as a perpetual drunkard. Simple, convincing, credible, realistic, like in real life. But again, watch out, because it's very sad, specially the ending...

Kyle Perez Blake Edwards' "Days of Wine and Roses (1962)" is a near perfect film in my opinion. Showing the true horrors and depth of alcoholism in an unapologetically dark manner, Edwards somehow manages to still find the beauty in his characters and their surroundings and does so in such an enchanting way.Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick are absolutely exceptional in their roles - they are majestic through the beginning of their journey and, even amidst their darkest periods, still manage to let their human qualities shine through. Together, they steal the show and elevate this film to something more profound than one might understand. Also excellent in supporting roles are Charles Bickford and Jack Klugman.The black and white cinematography is among some of the best I can recall, evoking a dreamy landscape that heightens the characters dreams, ambitions and dire need of escapism. The musical score by Henry Mancini (which justly won the Academy Award for Best Music) is both haunting and beautiful, perfectly capturing the film's tone.For this film's entire runtime, I was absolutely spellbound by these characters and their story. They evolve so humanly and their tragedy becomes such a part of you - perhaps not since Wilder's "The Lost Weekend (1945)" and Mike Nichols' "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)" has a film about alcoholism affected me so deeply. And the depressing ending (which has become so elusive in movies nowadays) ties the story together in the most natural and seemingly fitting way. Masterpiece.

Gerry Nelson Jack Lemmon, an up and coming Public Relations man and a budding alcoholic, meets Lee Remick, who doesn't drink, but likes chocolate. Jack introduces her to Brandy Alexanders and they soon embark on the downward spiral into alcoholism. Several years and several jobs later, Lee nearly burns down their apartment with their young daughter in it. Jack looses another job. Realizing they have lost control, they move in with Lee's father (Charles Bickford) and work in his greenhouse growing and delivering flowers and trees. Soon Jack gains Charles' trust and sneaks 2 pints of liquor into their room. After making short work of the 2 bottles, Jack nearly destroys the greenhouse drunkenly looking for the third bottle. Waking up in the mental ward with the DT's, Jack meets Jack Klugman, who introduces him to AA. After becoming sober and returning to work, Lemmon tries to woo Remick to join him in sobriety. At the close of the film, we know that Lemmon will remain sober, and can only hope that Remick will eventually join him in sobriety. As a Recovering Alcoholic (sober over 19 years) I can tell you this is a VERY plausible portrayal of the heartbreak that is alcoholism. I try to watch this film at least once a year just so I don't forget what I am. In addition to the wonderful writing and tremendous acting by both Jack and Lee, the theme 'The Days of Wine and Roses' by Henry Mancini weaves and haunts the entire film. Don't miss it!

Steffi_P (Spoilers in final paragraph only)Alcoholism is not an easy subject to tackle, especially in a medium where drunken bums tend to be figures of fun. Over the years you can see an evolution in how Hollywood has treated the problem of drink as sensibilities have changed. DW Griffith's The Struggle in 1931 was a nice try but appallingly poor taste, with am unconvincing, comedy drunk act. The Long Weekend (1945) went for harrowing realism and was for the most part effective, but it fell at the last hurdle and ended up being the very thing it tried not to be – a surreal melodrama that was unintentionally comical. Days of Wine and Roses however avoids this trap by being mostly realistic, whilst adding a light a sprinkling of comedy to offset the serious moments and make the tragedy run deeper.Days of Wine and Roses is rarely laugh-out-loud funny, but the first half-hour or so has a light air of irreverence. The JP Miller screenplay gives us dialogue that really sparkles with both wit and familiarity. Take for example the "Corporation x" conversation between Jack Lemmon and Charles Bickford. It's vaguely humorous but also a credible of the kind of talks people have, and gives us a concise and engaging introduction to Bickford's character. It's also important exchanges like this actually have nothing to do with alcoholism, they are just building layers of reality and interest to give the main story its human backdrop.Miller's words are brought to life by a note-perfect cast. Jack Lemmon's performance has a slight comic edge to it, without quite being the comic-relief drunk act. He has a hint of silliness about him even when he is sober and the implication is that he has a rather crazy personality which gets exaggerated when he drinks. It works very well. Co-star Lee Remick matches and if anything surpasses him. Her portrayal of drunkenness is more realistic; appropriate because her story is really the more tragic. Charles Bickford and Jack Klugman give some perspective with two powerful – but very different – performances which are completely sober and serious. In Bickford's case it's one of the last of an incredible career, in Klugman's one of the few opportunities he really got to shine.Director Blake Edwards was a minimalist when it came to style and technique, keeping things simple to focus us on the performances. That's not to say he can't do some clever visual arrangements. One of his trademarks is the party scene, and the example here is realistic, vibrant, but never enough to upstage the characters in the foreground. In most scenes Edwards keeps his camera fixed and pans to follow the actors as they caper about, making the backgrounds a blur but the characters continually in our attention. He often lets the players take their time over a scene, allowing for moments of contemplation or protracted outbursts. The greenhouse scene is a real masterstroke. We know exactly how this one is going to pan out, and we feel powerless as it unfolds before us with painful slowness.Of course, the origin of such powerful moments is JP Miller's screenplay, his structuring and clever little vignettes. Which leads me onto one final point that makes Days of Wine and Roses stand out above its predecessors. This picture takes the step The Lost Weekend didn't dare to. It refuses to give us a happy ending, and instead leaves the story hovering in ambiguity. Why is this so important? Quite simply we could not accept it. We know Joe has already recovered and relapsed several, and his happily-ever-after is not guaranteed. To finish the story happily would seem false, and make everything that went before it just a little pointless. As it is, we are left with a chilling, lingering feeling of doubt.