The Apartment

An endearing, in many ways timeless film about a hard-pressed apartment that deservedly belongs to the hall of fame. The amazing character of Jack Lemmon, trapped in the snares of his job and head over heels in love with his supervisor's girlfriend, is amazing. Also amazing is Wilder's direction steeped in classic romance, witty, original but not too cloying – whether we are talking about the unique depiction of the American civil service as a stereotypical prison, where bigwigs with a name tag on their door bring their girlfriends to their apartments according to schedule, or the ending of the romantic plot, which, by today's standards, will certainly surprise everyone. However, I'm reluctant to give it a fifth star, after all, I have given this rating to many films (even romantic ones) that I simply enjoyed a lot more. When I become a professional nitpicker one day, the star promotion will surely not miss The Apartment :-) 85% (27/09/2013)

I never wanted to go into The Apartment. The late Wilder stars like Lemmon or MacLaine (here representing a new type of beauty - after all, she is a star in the Audrey Hepburn era, right?) are never attractive on their own, but they need proper guidance, more than anyone else. The story has a certain charm, but its essence is brash and cruel at the same time, so the finale is highly questionable. But all this, managed by Wilder with considerable experience, has a certain level and now and then it is good to accept such experiences. Not to rest on our laurels, right? (25/01/2017)

I thought Baxter wouldn't stand up to his oppressors in the end. I also thought about how it would look nowadays, when he could secretly film them and then blackmail them. Great cast, with Jack Lemmon showing what an incredible performer he is, Shirley demonstrating human imperfection and a desire for affection in the wrong places. Superbly executed until the very end. (01/04/2015)

Any room in the student dorms could tell more interesting stories than this one about a cagey bastard who sucks up to his bosses by lending them a love nest for long winter evenings... But seriously, almost every other review mentioned Lemmon's civility. Which is interesting because I was annoyed by his utter incivility and overacting in an otherwise excellent film (especially the scene with the fever was deserving of chastisement). And it's even more obvious when confronted with the perfectly civil (ehem, ehem) and a charming performance from Shirley MacLaine. She just sits there all the time, while he runs around confusedly waving his arms like in a slapstick movie. (08/08/2010)

It’s well made, discreet, charming, and soaked in the nostalgia of black and white times. In addition, the film has the excellent central pairing of Lemmon-MacLaine, between whom things spark even without the red-book outbursts and overly cheap gestures. I don't know why, but I had the feeling that Wilder was making a visionary mockery of contemporary love comedies... (28/02/2007)