I said I had no family. I didn't say I had an empty apartment.

The Apartment – 3.5/5

I want to say that The Apartment does something new for its time, but I've got no fucking idea what was happening at the time. I want to say it's an inversion of the casual romantic comedy endemic to the era: sputtering lover caught in the cross-fire, an unexpected third corner in a love triangle — caught up in a lark, buffoonery, antics — and then upsetting the formula with the very real consequences of such a casual thing as love. Almost like taking 'The Sweet Smell of Success' and saying 'I'll turn it into a comedy.' (I'd like to say that though I don't remember that movie as much as I remember liking it, and liking the darkness inside it.) There's a darkness here, too, and that's what makes it commendable. It feels like it may have been something new for its time. It feels like commentary. But maybe the timeframe doesn't matter – it still feels like something new. The commentary still works. It's just too bad they pair up at the end. No real consequences, which makes it too much like all those other inconsequential things of the era. A crowd-pleasing choice, not a brave one.