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Breakfast at Tiffany's
1961 Comedy / Drama / Romance
Review
Arguably the best romantic film comedy of all time, certainly one of
the smoothest and most enjoyable, Breakfast
at Tiffany’s is an enduring classic of Hollywood that seems to
get better and better the more times you watch it. Glossing over
the more sordid aspects of Truman Capote’s witty yet provocative
novella, the film features Audrey Hepburn as an urban waif who has the
ethereal quality of a fairytale princess and George Peppard as the
down-to-Earth wordsmith who struggles to pull her out of the
clouds. Hepburn and Peppard give their absolute best performances
here and achieve an on-screen rapport which is virtually unmatched in
this genre of film.
Of course, Breakfast at Tiffany’s is memorable primarily for two things: (a) Audrey Hepburn’s implausibly long cigarette holder, which could easily double both as a billiard cue and as a beacon to warn off low flying aircraft; and (b) the luxuriously haunting Moon River signature tune (possibly the most romantic movie theme ever), which the actress gets to sing, helping Henry Mancini win his two Oscars, for best song and best score. The film has one other, more dubious, claim to fame – Mickey Rooney as Hepburn’s Japanese neighbour. Heavily made up as the most grotesque caricature of a Japanese man you can imagine (outside of a Tintin story or a Benny Hill sketch, that is), Rooney gives a turn that is both utterly hilarious and about as politically correct as it is possible to be. If this is a flaw, then it is the only flaw in an otherwise perfect film. Breakfast at Tiffany’s is the career high point of director Blake Edwards, although he would score some successes subsequently, notably with his series of Pink Panther films. © James Travers 2009 Write a review for this film... User Comments
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Director:
Blake Edwards
Starring: Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Patricia Neal, Buddy Ebsen, Martin Balsam Synopsis
Moving into his new apartment in New York City, struggling writer Paul
Varjak tumbles into the chaotic life of his neighbour, a muddleheaded
drifter named Holly Golightly. Everything about the strange young
woman fascinates Paul, especially her frequent visits to a gangster
boss in Sing Sing prison, which provide her with her weekly
allowance. Holly equally takes a shine to the charming young
writer, and doesn’t criticise him for sleeping with his patroness, an
older woman who provides him with his
weekly allowance for services rendered. Paul is surprised
when a man turns up one day, claiming to be Holly’s husband. For
some reason, Holly seems determined to avoid any reference to her past
and refuses to go back home with the man she insists is her ex-husband. Her only
preoccupation is finding a rich husband to marry so that she no longer
has to worry about the shopping bills and can spend more time in the
only place where she feels at home, the jewellers Tiffany’s. By now Paul
realises that he is in love with Holly, but will he be able to convince
her that he is the man for her...?
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