The movie “Days of wine and roses” is an absorbing, realistic, yet frightening account of how alcohol can consume the life of an entire family and affect the lives of all those around them. In my opinion, this is one of the best, if not the best non-documentary type of movie that portrays the effects of alcohol and the consequences that occur because of it. The movie examines the different areas that alcohol affects the life of the alcoholic. For example, the character Joe Clay loses his job due to alcohol.
When Joe is out of town on business, Kristen finds that drinking seems to pass the time the best way she knows. Kristen sets fire to their apartment almost killing her and their daughter, Debbie. One riveting scene in the movie shows where Joe destroys his in-laws greenhouse looking for the bottles of alcohol he had buried with one of the plants. This scene captures what alcohol or drugs does to a person once the drug then takes over control of the person.
The movie does an excellent job of showing viewers how people can drink for enjoyment thinking they have everything under control to the point the alcohol has gained the control and the alcoholic often doesn’t notice the change in themselves. This is evident as we watch Joe Clay go from his two-martini lunches with the boys to becoming a full-blown alcoholic. One of the qualities of this film that I appreciated was that at the end of the film it offers the viewer information in regards to the group Alcoholics Anonymous.
Personally, I think this wrapped up the movie in the best way possible. I’m the type of person who doesn’t want to see the problem without also being presented with some solutions. I can respect the film more when I feel it is not solely for entertainment purposes when it deals with such a sensitive subject but can be a useful tool for people who relate to the problem in the movie. One of the ways I always determine if the film was a good film is if I forget that I am watching a movie. That is one of the many criteria this movie doesn’t disappoint.
Not only is it an accurate portrayal by the actors and actresses involved, the substance of the movies stays with you long after you have viewed the movie. Something else I felt was important to mention, I was watching this movie with a friend and the friend didn’t like it because it didn’t have a nice ending or good closure to it. I feel this would have made this an inaccurate movie because most of the time when you are dealing with drugs or alcohol, there will not be nice endings or good closures and I think its important that the viewer see that.
If it did have a nice or trite ending, it would have taken a lot of substance from the movie. When AA is mentioned at the end it would be kind of weird to show that this couple recovered fine but you might need AA. If you like happily ever after movies I wouldn’t advise one to watch “The Days of Wine and Roses,” however, if you’re up for watching a well acted, realistic, yet frightening account of how drugs and alcohol can destroy your life and the lives of those around you, I would highly recommend this movie.
The fashion in the movie may be outdated, but the acting and the movie itself are timeless. The song in the movie with the same name of the movie, “Days of Wine and Roses” with lyrics written by Johnny Mercer and the music written by Henry Mancini deservingly received an Academy Award for best original song. The song was recorded by artists of the day like Andy Williams, Perry Como and Henry Mancini who all had some success with it.
