The stronger woman and the younger man
Youth longing for riches
Unhappiness upon gaining riches
The loss of influence by aging
The changing of the guard
Mental illness/delusion
I tried to associate other movies [The Graduate, King Lear, The Godfather (s)] but I ran out of examples. Just by those, this movie is in good company.
William Holden plays Joe, a struggling screenwriter. Running from the repo men, he hides in an old mansion where the former silent movie star Norma Desmond lives (Gloria Swanson) with her butler Max. She quickly eyes Joe as someone that can help her get back to prominence and arranges in short order for him to move in and start working for her. He having nothing better going on, is easily obliged.
When Joe starts to realize that he is getting deeper into Norma's life, he seeks to pull out but like a spider in a web gets more stuck.
Written by Billy Wilder, the film reminded me of another of his classics, Double Indemnity with the dialogue, the allure of easy money and the downward spiral. In a choice between good and evil, sometimes you lose either way.
* * * * (highest rating)
Very well capsulized and great examples. I can see The Graduate's comparison, which I'd never though of. In your crisp summary, you highlight its most important peaks of which there are many. I agree with your overall appraisal and with you putting it in the same league as Double Indemnity which is no easy task.
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