Brandon's #77: Ace in the Hole (Billy Wilder, 1951)

The entire film is built around an event; one discovered, slanted, and orchestrated by a desperate/cocky (bad combo) ink slinger. But it's mostly about the reporter himself, watching his every move, scheme, and follow through. Like Holden's character from STALAG 17, he goes out of his way to announce loud and clear that he's an irredeemable piece of shit. ---- I never understood why Holden's character had the gall to act surprised when his fellow POWs beat the tar out of him, considering he has spent the entirety of the film goading and taunting them, giving them every reason to confirm his guilt ---- It sometimes plays out like a race to the bottom between Douglas' Chuck Tatum and Jan Sterling's equally awful Lorraine Minosa.

Each display an unhealthy affection for the rocks that have fallen on and trapped an unlucky treasure seeker, himself an exploiter. It's a big stupid carnival for bored suckers. Wilder's notorious cynicism is spread evenly around the New Mexican vistas, with inhabitants of all intellectual capacities. The dumb crowds, cop pricks, trapped victim and his restless wife, and even old crafty Chuck himself are handed equal daily portions of culpability.

It's easy to try and make cheap connections to modern times, specifically the relationship between the news and its audience or the way the police chief advantageously goes along with the entire charade at the expense of the trapped man's life. But like I said, Wilder's cynicism spreads wider and also he's more interested in Chuck's poison heart.

Why am I drawn to this? Maybe it appeals to some dark personal inclinations toward culture as a whole. That also feels too easy and self-congratulatory. I'm part of it. Certainly because it's so alive onscreen, bizarre and persistently ugly. Wilder will always be a debated figure, perhaps rightfully so, but I've rarely found his naval gazing a turn off. Especially when it, especially in the case of this film, predicted the future.

This film's media circus shines less light on manufactured consent and much more on the hysteria spun out of simple tragedy. Molly Haskell hit the nail on the head when she called it, "a public drunk on sensation." It all starts with Chuck; his anger, his desperation, his love for power and money, his disdain for ordinary people. I'm not sure "impressive" is the right word, but I'm impressed that ACE IN THE HOLE follows through. Considering that most of our judgement and criticism stems from within, I can only imagine what this says ultimately about Wilder.