Joe Gillis: A Character Study Joe Gillis is one of the most interesting characters to ever grace the silver screen, and a character that is still studied to this day. While Gloria Swanson’s historic performance of Norma Desmond garners more attention and praise, I would make the argument that William Holden’s portrayal of Joe Gillis is just as intriguing. Billy Wilder created a character that I have never been so unsure of, he is one of the great examples of the anti-hero. He’s not a great guy, but I wouldn’t go so far to say he’s bad either, he’s right in the middle. The characteristics he has as the protagonist are ones that aren’t very common such as being very passive, and dependent on the ones around him. He’s an unreliable narrator and
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For the rest of the movie if you don’t realize that he was talking about himself in third person, you were wondering who’s going to end up dead in the pool. This moment when he’s speaking of himself in third person completely changes the telling of the story, he starts out with the end, not the beginning. He wants to tell his story, not the “distorted and blown out of proportion” story the newspapers are going to tell. The story that the newspaper will be telling will be about Norma, it will be her story, because Joe says it himself he’s a nobody. In my opinion the reason he’s the narrator is because he’s the only one who can tell the story. While he’s an unreliable narrator he’s the most reliable narrator we could have tell …show more content…
He’s the narrator and the one facilitating what is being told and what isn’t. The camera follows him wherever he goes, and when it isn’t on him, it’s around where he is. While Norma Desmond is a very interesting character, she doesn’t have much of a character arch, she just seems to get crazier and more delusional as the movie goes on. As a character, you question Joe’s actions much more than you would Norma’s. The story being told is how Joe Gillis has been changed by Hollywood, his own self-actualization, and his resulted death. If you want Norma’s story go read the newspaper, or maybe she can narrate her side of the story from her jail cell, I’m sure she would love to do
For the rest of the movie if you don’t realize that he was talking about himself in third person, you were wondering who’s going to end up dead in the pool. This moment when he’s speaking of himself in third person completely changes the telling of the story, he starts out with the end, not the beginning. He wants to tell his story, not the “distorted and blown out of proportion” story the newspapers are going to tell. The story that the newspaper will be telling will be about Norma, it will be her story, because Joe says it himself he’s a nobody. In my opinion the reason he’s the narrator is because he’s the only one who can tell the story. While he’s an unreliable narrator he’s the most reliable narrator we could have tell …show more content…
He’s the narrator and the one facilitating what is being told and what isn’t. The camera follows him wherever he goes, and when it isn’t on him, it’s around where he is. While Norma Desmond is a very interesting character, she doesn’t have much of a character arch, she just seems to get crazier and more delusional as the movie goes on. As a character, you question Joe’s actions much more than you would Norma’s. The story being told is how Joe Gillis has been changed by Hollywood, his own self-actualization, and his resulted death. If you want Norma’s story go read the newspaper, or maybe she can narrate her side of the story from her jail cell, I’m sure she would love to do