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“There was once a very lovely, very frightened girl. She lived alone except for a nameless cat.”
For my money, the troubled world doesn’t get any better portrayed than with Blake Edwards’ Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Sure, it’s a departure from Truman Capote’s novella but the hard-hitting prose of Capote is replaced with the lyrical romance of composer Henry Mancini’s most memorable score and the effect – the merging of style and wit – is what makes Breakfast at Tiffany’s an iconic film. And then there’s the lovely and beautifully spirited Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly; extravert is her specialty. It wasn’t Hepburn’s, though. Whatever challenges she felt in her portrayal of one of the cinema’s finest heroines is masked by her grace and professionalism. Breakfast at Tiffany’s, arriving on blu-ray from Paramount Pictures this month, is the madcap masterpiece in writer/director Blake Edwards’ esteemed comedic career.
When Capote sold the rights to his novella, his intention was to have Holly Golightly played by Marilyn Monroe. Yet, the American scene of fashion was quickly evolving and so was the restless college underground who so welcomingly embraced Capote’s story. Monroe, as it turns out, was advised not to take the role. Re-written, Holly Golightly found her legs with Hepburn and, much to Capote’s disappointment, the world accepted it. Thus, Hepburn’s 60’s dominance, both in style and sweetness, was born.
Holly (Hepburn) is bright enough, but she gets everywhere with every one playing the part of the carefee ditz. To look at her, one would never know the loss of her illegitimate child or guess that she was running from a loveless marriage with "Doc" Golightly (Buddy Ebsen). She wants it that way; wants the world to forget that she was ever Lula Mae Barnes from Tulip, Texas. In Manhattan, gazing into the jewelry displays at Tiffany’s, she has found her home. Forget romance, forget flowers; momentarily pleasures are what she craves.
Understanding this (or not accepting it) makes things hard for Paul Varjak (George Peppard). From the moment he moves into the downstairs apartment, he finds himself drawn toward her carefree nature and afternoon guitar serenades; there is something different about this woman. Careful, Paul, don’t fall in love. Ironic though, since he himself earns his keep as an escort for a significantly older (and married) Emily Eustace Failenson (Patricia Neal). Makes things interesting, doesn’t it? Soon enough, Paul and Holly are on a crash course toward doom and destiny as all their secrets become unraveled and intertwined and then sealed on a rainy day in Manhattan.
There’s a bit of restless anarchy that runs throughout Breakfast at Tiffany’s that should be celebrated; it’s a sort of freedom that we don’t much get to witness on the screen these days from Hollywood. Witness the cocktail party and the calamity that ensues after the guests arrive and a woman’s hat is set afire by cigarette ash. Edwards eye for comedic what if possibilities is certainly a keen one and here, with what seems like 400 people in one tiny apartment, he delivers pure gold.
The breathtaking subtle beauty of the opening scene on the street of Manhattan with Hepburn dressed to the nines in her black Givenchy dress and holding her pastry, which Edwards has confessed was the hardest scene to shoot, is a mood establishing whopper where style and music crush into something that transcends time and becomes a statement; this is art. It’s a scene that I could deconstruct and analyze for hours. Fitting then, that Breakfast at Tiffany’s should become one of the most celebrated and revisited films by its fans. Even if roles like Sally Tomato (Alan Reed) and Mr. Yunioshi (Mickey Rooney) comes across as more cartoonish than they ought, George Axelrod’s adaptation is a loving tribute to a time and era when the world was about to explode. Boy, did it ever.
Which is why I respect Breakfast at Tiffany’s so much; this is the lead-in to big change across the America in the 60’s. While there is a certain degree of innocence to Holly Golightly, there’s a much darker reality that lurks beneath…and it’s the darker side that the film ultimately explores. It’s a hint at things to come from motion pictures in the 60s and for America, too.
MPAA Rating: This titles has not been rated by the MPAA.
