Eugene
Apr 29, 20201 min
Our discussion group talked about what we liked about this iconic film from 1961 and what we weren’t too happy about. These were our likes:
·The chemistry between the two leads, Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard
·George Peppard’s stunning blue eyes and his general loveliness
·Patricia Neal’s strong supporting actress performance
·The fashion and Givenchy’s designs – as well as the famous Little Black Dress, there were other strong favourites. Who wouldn’t want that very wearable orange coat?
·The award-winning song ‘Moon River’
·Hepburn’s beautiful face – “the camera loved her”
·The look of the film, with its design, styling and colour
·The first shot of Holly Golightly in an amazingly empty Manhattan
Our dislikes were:
·Mickey Rooney’s grotesque and racist portrayal of a Japanese man
·The whiteness of the film generally, New York was more ethnically mixed at the time
·The bittiness of the plot and the strangeness of the party scene
·Some elements of Holly Golightly’s “naïve and flawed” character not making sense and her role as a prostitute smoothed over
We also discussed some reviews of the film from 1961 and were interested to see that Rooney’s portrayal was seen as a ‘caricature’ and ‘offensive’ even then by some newspapers.We finally read Hepburn’s touching letter to Mancini, thanking him for ‘Moon River’ – she called him ‘the hippest of cats.’
Ben and I were pleased that our short film about Audrey Hepburn, taken around Rusthall, received such a warm reception. It has encouraged us to do some more.We love the way the community cinema offers opportunities to develop skills and interests with others.
Anne