Two for the Road | Audrey Hepburn, Albert Finney | Beautifully Rendered Postcards With a Peerless...

Two for the Road | Audrey Hepburn, Albert Finney | Adult, Non Sentimental Analysis Of Marital Breakdown

DVDs:

Two for the Road

	Two for the Road Audrey Hepburn, Albert Finney 20th Century Fox, 2005 average customer review:based on 95 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Beautifully Rendered Postcards With a Peerless Audrey

I read in Danny Peary's "A Guide for the Film Fanatic" that some people have formed a strong emotional attachment to this 1967 film. I am one of them. From the opening notes of Henry Mancini's evocative score (personally I think it's his best work) to the end where the main characters drive off into Italy after some verbal sparring, this movie still provides the same pleasure it did when I first saw it on TV in the early seventies. "Two for the Road" is a time capsule of Carnaby Street fashion and French new wave scene juxtaposition, but it remains timeless in its emotionally piercing view of marriage and in the beguiling presence of Audrey Hepburn. There will unlikely be an actress with more style or grace on screen, and never has she seemed more sexy, playful or innately human. It's a shame she never played a role as rich in texture as Frederic Raphael's script provides here. His dialogue is sharp and insightful, as he has the main characters often repeat one another for the sake of getting a different meaning from the same line of dialogue.

As Joanna and Mark Wallace, Hepburn and Albert Finney get to live out more than a decade in their characters' lives from initial meeting to near-divorce. What makes the evolution more impressive is that the story is not a linear narrative but rather a series of five road trips that volley the viewer back and forth in the relationship. Finney provides a formidable match for Hepburn, and he plays with the right mix of roguish insouciance and insecure ambition that doesn't make his character always likeable but certainly believable. Their chemistry is palpable, especially in the early days of their courtship as the movie makes hitchhiking the most romantic of adventures with the couple cutting through the entirety of France in various vehicles in record time. Only in the movies. The episode with the pretentious American tourist couple and their bratty daughter provides some biting and funny moments...ironically, the actress portraying the wife, Eleanor Bron, is British. Not surprising that this movie was not such a huge hit stateside since the four Americans in the movie are portrayed in such an unflattering light.

Regardless, credit needs to go to director Stanley Donen (himself an American), who somehow pulls all these disparate elements together and uses his extensive Hollywood experience to bring a nice glossy sheen to the whole film. His third collaboration with Hepburn (after "Funny Face" and "Charade") really turns into a tribute to her as she makes a remarkable transformation from naïve choirgirl to jaded jet-set housewife that goes well beyond the changing hairstyles and clothing. This is one to treasure.

**ADDENDUM ABOUT THE DVD RELEASE POSTED ON NOVEMBER 17, 2005**

At last!...This wondrous film has been lovingly restored for its much-delayed DVD release. The print quality has been significantly improved over the VHS tape I've had for over a decade. A nice bonus feature is a split-screen before-and-after short that shows the visual improvement. Best of all, there is finally an audio commentary track to accompany the film, and Donen provides illuminating insight on the elliptical narrative structure and the non-chronological juxtaposition of the scenes. He explains that the characters are reliving their memories by association with the feelings they are having in the present. His adoration of Hepburn is pervasive and understandable, as he claims rightfully that this was her best performance (they worked together three times). I just wish Finney was available to add his perspective. Moreover, if you ever wondered why the young Jacqueline Bisset's voice doesn't sound like her at all, he admits she was re-dubbed by another actress due to the blaring noise of generators during the location shooting. She apparently had already moved on to shoot her first Hollywood film. For those like me who adore this film, the DVD is a must-buy.

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Adult, Non Sentimental Analysis Of Marital Breakdown

Stanley Donen's classic "Two for the Road", which chronicles the painful but also surprisingly at times quite comic breakdown of a 12 year old marriage comes as bit of a surprise after his main fame was for lavish musicals such as "Singin' in the Rain". He however handles the territory like a seasoned veteran in this vivid and perceptive examination of a love that has grown stale between a couple who have perhaps grown a little too used to each other. Framed in the unique format of a number of cross country road trips set at different times in the couples courtship, poor early years together when they have to share a vacation, and in one where the couple have a young child and affluence, these side by side vignettes ilustrate beautifully the idea of a tender love gradually growing cold with the passing of time. The two main characters in question are brought to life by a luminous Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney as the warring couple in two of their very finest performances that in the case of Audrey Hepburn in particular definately added new dimensions to her already well established screen persona.

The story opens with husband and wife Mark and Joanna Wallace (Albert Finney and Audrey Hepburn), are undertaking the latest in their series of long distance car trips from London down to the French Riviera. However unlike the previous excursions which were done for enjoyment and sightseeing this trip is solely a business arrangment to meet up with some of Mark's business collegues. This in itself shows a clear picture of the direction the Wallace's mariage has taken over the years. All is certainly not well between the by now financially prosperous couple and during the course of the trip the pair via flashbacks reflect on their twelve year old marriage focusing on the state of their marriage during the previous road trips they have taken. The earliest flashback is to when they were an in love young couple; she touring as part of a girl's choir and he a struggling architect. At this early time in their courtship with no money and having to weather extremely unsatisfactory forms of transport such as a car with a burning engine and sleeping in a drain tube the love for each other only increases between the pair who are carefree, without serious commitments and ready to take on the world. The later flashbacks of the story see Joanna and Mark as a young married couple sharing a ride down south with a boring couple Howard and Cathy Manchester (William Daniels and Eleanor Bron), and their obnoxious daughter Ruthie (Gabrielle Middleton), with all the pitfalls occuring when one has to share a vacation with others. It also gives a vivid illustration of the direction that their own marriage could gradually be taking. Over this time the initial great love between the pair begins to become jaded and even the birth of their daughter really doen't seem to bring back that old magic into the relationship. The flashbacks illustrate the growing discord growing between the pair which results in both parties indulging in infidelties in an attempt to put some spark back in their marriage. When Joanna eventually asks for a divorce Mark hesitates as this will really bring all of their problems that are best kept hidden in his belief due to his high profile business connections, out into the open. The story then ends with the couple resolving to stay together and try and make the marriage work because aside from the bitterness and infidelities hey have both experienced after 12 years together they do actually need each other and really can't imagine their lives without the other.

"Two for the Road", could never be called your typical Hollywood marital comedy and its rather adult and at times unorthodox way of telling its story without the usual Hollywood flourishes makes the story almost as timely today as it was back on it's release in 1967. The two very different screen personas of Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney combine very well here and the elements of comedy brought into the story along with the largely non sentimental ending gives the story a hefty injection of reality not often seen in these types of films. Audrey Hepburn concluded her highly successful collaboration with veteran director Stanley Donen here after teaming superbly in such efforts as "Funny Face", and especially the classic "Charade". "Two for the Road", was without a doubt their most adult piece together and it's a pity that their work as director and lead actress didn't continue into the late 60's when often more serious themes were being explored on screen. Audrey Hepburn manages to be totally convincing over the 12 year time span covered by the movie and her changing hairstyles, clothes, (she is a very different kind of fashion plate in this film compared to earlier efforts), and general attitude to life in general is a joy to witness proving what a fine mature actress she had become by this stage in her career. Despite their obnoxious screen characters William Daniels and Eleanor Bron are wonderful as the horrid tourists with the hateful little daughter who Joanna and Mark become trapped with on their middle cross country tour. The comic visit to Chantilly Chateau done in fast motion and William Daniels character's minute by minute planning of travel plans and expenses, does much to relieve the often heavy emotional business going on between Joanna and Mark. The film also benefits greatly from the exquisite on location photography done throughout France and the Riviera on the numerous road trips and it's interesting to see the gradual change in motor vehicle transportation the couple have as their material prosperity increases in direct relation to their decreasing unhappiness with their marriage and their lives in general. The continued flashbacks and then return to the present is also capably done and is very well complimented in the wonderfully candid screenplay by Frederic Raphael and by Henry Mancini's most interesting musical score which is one of his best, it being very reflective of this very "mod", late 1960's period.

Anyone expecting your typical Audrey Hepburn comedy are probably in for a bit of a surprise here with "Two for the Road", but although I do tend to prefer Audrey in her more "typical", earlier types of roles I find this timely late 1960's effort not only stimulating adult storytelling but also a real indication of the direction Audrey Hepburn's career possibly might have taken had she not left films in that year for a long break to raise her family. With no older and suitably suave leading man like Cary Grant or Gary Cooper in sight, and minus the glamourous Givency outfits that were her screen trademark, Audrey however still glows on screen and gives a well thought out performance that compliments the very different acting style of Albert Finney very well. Sensitively written marital comedies laced with human drama and emotion are a rare commodity nowadays which is why a viewing of Stanley Donen's 1967 effort "Two for the Road", is such a treat. Try and have a viewing of it soon. Highly recommended.

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Brilliant, Hepburn's most intelligent, sophisticated film

This is the finest film Audrey Hepburn ever made. Decades ahead of its time, "Two For The Road" really anticipates the crazy narrative contortions of Charlie Kaufman and other modern screenwriters and still feels daring today. However, the relationship between Hepburn and Finney is so genuine and the dialogue so wittily precise that you'll never care about the exact chronology, which is almost impossible to figure out anyway. You'll just revel in one of the most hilarious and charming yet bitingly honest films about romance ever made. I have to imagine "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" owes something to this masterpiece.

The seemingly simple narrative hook is this; Mark and Joanna meet while travelling across France. They then make the same journey at numerous points in their married lives, sometimes together, a few times alone. The genius of Raphael's screenplay is to intercut all of these trips, without any attempt to explain which trip we are seeing each time - there are no titles saying "1956" or "1964" at each change. Instead, we are able to follow the timeline by the way in which their relationship changes from lovers to newlyweds to bored spouses.

The specifics of time, like fashion, and other little clues, do make it fairly easy to follow the chronology if you absolutely must, but it's not at all vital. (Hint - there's always a large annual registration sticker on the windshield of whatever car they're driving, which tells you when the scene takes place, if you just have to know.)

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"How Come Mommy Called Joanna a Suburban English Nobody?"

It surprises a lot of people that I like this movie as much as I do, but not as much as me. I have owned it for 11 years now, and still find it as intriguing and heartbreaking as I do funny and thought-provoking. In this 1967 film, we see Audrey Hepburn forego the Givenchy route of glamour in favor of playing Joanna, the long-suffering mate of a selfish and conceited architect named Mark Wallace (Albert Finney). This movie is not shot in chronological order, but it shows the couple through various stages of their relationship in ways that contrast to certain scenes at different times in their unity. While this may confuse some people, all you need to know is that Audrey was young, single Joanna traveling with Mark when her hair is long. When her hair is to her shoulders and she's wearing bangs, they are newlyweds traveling with an American couple all over Europe with their horrible brat Ruthie Bell ("I thought you didn't like Joanna, daddy."). She has stylish short hair when she's expecting their daughter Caroline and they're out on their own in the MG, and she has the unflattering bob with the hairband when their marriage is at its worst and she has an affair with David in France. You know you're up-to-date when she's wearing "groovy" mod 60's styles that don't really suit her. If you look to Albert Finney's character Mark, he never really changes at all in either appearance or attitude.

You really wonder throughout the course of this film what can make a woman like Joanna stay for 12 years with a man as selfish and egotistical as Mark, and then you realize that he was that way from the very beginning. Joanna saw him in a way that he indulged for a while, regardless of the fact that she didn't like him very much at first. Also, you watch him make funny faces and utilize his charm in a way that makes you understand why she forgave his philandering. You also understand what made her decide to humiliate him with an affair of her own.

Two For the Road is a wonderful portrayal of twelve years in a British couple's marriage, but it could be anybody on this planet. There is all the humor, the romance, failure, betrayal, anger, and undying devotion so many couples encounter in even less time than that. Underneath it all is Henry Mancini's beautiful musical score to create extra magic to the screenplay that Stanley Donen has brought to effective fruition. This movie is obviously not for everyone, but I would like to point out its ostentatious merits: Nobody is perfect, and this movie makes that quite clear in spades. It all comes down to forgiving and forgetting, then onto renewal. Will this couple make it as they move to America for a few years after all they've been through already? I like to think so. Get it for yourself to draw your own conclusions.

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fond memories

I saw this movie downtown San Antonio, Texas as a teenager and fell madly in love...again (first time as Holly Golightly) with Audrey Hepburn. She was and will remain one of our most beloved movie stars of our time. This is a wonderful classic film about 2 people most happy when they have nothing but one another. Proving once again that money cannot buy happiness in life. 5 stars for sure!

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, page 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

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