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Tear Jerker / Sunset Boulevard

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... and this happens within the first 5 minutes of the movie.

Being the Ur-Example of How We Got Here and possibly Downer Beginning with the main protagonist's body being discovered near the water, sad and unfortunate moments are inevitable in a film like this.


  • Just Norma's washed up post-celebrity life in general. Even though she's rich and lives in a mansion, she still feels very lonely and depressed all the time. She only has her butler Max for company and has had to find alternate ways to occupy herself which usually involve her past life. Plus she rarely has anyone come over, save for a couple of silent film stars, and sometimes feels so useless, she often tries committing suicide. Which is why the mansion doesn't have locks on any of the doors, and Max has to forge fan letters to Norma, so she would feel like she still mattered. Not so glamorous being a celebrity, now is it?
  • Norma returns to the Paramount lot and is greeted by all her old friends and admirers, and she thinks this is the beginning of her return. It's not - Cecil B. DeMille is just being nice to her, and the real reason that Paramount kept calling her was because they wanted to rent her car.
    • The musical captures this scene in a song called "As if We Never Said Goodbye". Norma sings it by herself, and the sheer longing she expresses for the atmosphere of an active shoot, tone alternating between confidence and fear, is absolutely heartbreaking when performed by a talented actress. It's even more affective if you've personally worked in film or theatre and know exactly the kind of atmosphere she means.
  • A minor example, but there's just something so depressing about Buster Keaton saying "pass" during sole scene in the film. Looks like Norma wasn't the only one whose time in the spotlight was up.
  • Norma's final scene, as she thinks she's filming her Salome, everyone else just standing there in horror and pity. And then Norma bursts into tears... only because she's so happy that she's finally making her movies.
    • One of the moments that truly sells the sadness: as Norma descends the stairs, there's a brief shot of Hedda Hopper (playing herself) on the railing. You can tell that's she's ready to absolutely burst into tears at the sight of Norma. Hopper was one of the most legendary gossip columnists in Hollywood, and made a career out of slander and scandal—but even she's devastated by what's happened.
  • A real-life example from the film's premiere: Gloria Swanson wanted to speak with Mary Pickford, one of the greatest actresses of the silent era and someone who, like Norma Desmond, saw her movie career destroyed by the arrival of sound. But when Swanson tried to find Mary, she was told "She can't show herself, Gloria. She's too overcome. We all are."
  • Joe breaking Betty's heart so she can have the life she deserves. He plays the role of a Jerkass to the hilt so she'll leave, but when she does go, the look on his face says it all. It's even worse in the musical, when a reprise of "Too Much in Love to Care" plays over Betty's sobs as she walks out of Joe's life forever.

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