Monday, September 27, 2010

#15: Two for the Road

Starring: Albert Finney, Audrey Hepburn
Dir: Stanley Donen (1967)
Such a cute scene!!

I felt pretty nicely neutral about this movie after I finished it. It was nowhere near getting New Favorite status, but it was plenty charming.
Bad: Albert Finney's Humphrey Bogart impersonations. A lot of the emphasis on sex that might have been fresh at the time seemed too heavy-handed at certain points in the movie. Mainly the middle third, I think, where I felt like there wasn't a single scene in which exactly where the rocks in Mark and Joanna's marriage were wasn't being defined... which is mainly a problem because to me Audrey Hepburn is too ladylike to have a sex life. At all. The end.
Good: I liked the chance to see Audrey Hepburn in a different kind of role than those I was already familiar with. She was equally impressive as both young and old Joanna - I really loved how she managed to appear totally believable at both ends of the spectrum. The young Joanna is so naive and bubbly and cute, while the older one is jaded, spoiled, and resentful, but the way Audrey plays it there is still plenty of continuity.
Albert Finney was a little less dynamic - his main thing was surprising me (generic viewer person) with how much he actually loved his wife, even after he'd said something heartless, and just when it seemed like he was about to leave for good.

Much has been made of Audrey's outfits in this movie, too, but blah blah blah I think she's adorable no matter what she wears and that is pretty much that.

Summary: The cheery appeal of a couple romping through Europe was this movie's main draw for me at first, but as it progressed I just loved watching Audrey Hepburn do a million different things. Princess Ann she is not.

Stars: 3 of 5

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