Movie: "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961)

[Bob Pr.]

Shown in the monthly "Cinema Studies" section of KU's Endacott Society.

"Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961) 115 min., color. Genres: comedy, drama, romance.
Stars: Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Mickey Rooney, a cat & others.
Drawn from the novella by Truman Capote. Won 2 Oscars: music and song ("Moon River").
Rates 7.8/10 stars on IMDb, see: Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) - IMDb
100% of top critics, 91% of audiences rate it "ripe" (not rotten) on "Rotten Tomatoes" see: Breakfast at Tiffany's Movie Reviews - Rotten Tomatoes for full text reviews.
No Roger Ebert review as of this date.

A thoroughly delightful, fairy tale loosely drawn from the novella of the same name but with many differences (including the ending).

Holly Golightly (Hepburn) is a southwestern 19 year old farm girl from a tragic family background (orphaned, then married at 14, then annulled) who moved to NYC and transformed her speech, appearance, and apparent personality into a hip, cosmopolitan, "high class" party girl. She supports herself by partying with money from her admirers--whether that's for the pleasure they get from her company and beauty--or for deeper bodily favors is never made clear in the film (and the film is NOT a literal version of the book). Holly's on the look-out to snare a wealthy man to marry.

Whenever Holly is having her "mean reds" (for her, a stage beyond the blues), as soon as she gets up in the afternoon, she browses Tiffany's, an ultra high tier jewelry store, to refresh her spirits. Hence the name of the book and film.

Paul (Peppard), a struggling writer, moves in to an apartment in the same building as Holly's. He's also being supported--by an older, married woman in (definite but never seen) exchange for those deeper bodily favors.

Holly has a cat (extremely well trained for this film) that's one of the stars of the show.

The lives of Holly and Paul progressively intersect more and more. This 1961 film has one episode with a wild party, maybe a little over the top (but not by that much), that's so VERY typical of parties of that era it brought back memories. The to-be-resolved tension in the film comes from wondering if Holly and Paul will leave their established means of support and find each other--and should they? (The film does have a happy ending.)

In IMDb's "Message Board" for this film (which has comments, Qs & As), many threads wonder about Holly's psychiatric/psychological diagnosis, some suggesting bipolar, depressed, etc., and/or whether she's capable of having a mutually satisfactory life with a husband. And similar questions, comments.

This film is NOT a documentary--it's a fairy tale, told to amuse and entertain--not to instruct, educate or warn--certainly NOT to be a character study of a particular diagnosis. IF Holly's character as portrayed in the film has to have a diagnosis, my vote is for Mixed Personality Disorder. And if anyone diagnosed a disorder, surely they'd also have to note her mega skills in adapting to a different culture. BUT the film (IMO) never requires us to believe that this is a story of real life.

Instead, maybe it invites us to visualize ourselves in either Holly's or Paul's shoes and asks what we would do?

Delightful, entertaining --> my vote is 10 of 10 stars.

[Paddysmom]

Can Hepburn wear a little black dress or WHAT!

[dweck]

definite but never seen

Patricia Neal's character is seen several times throughout the film.

It is indeed a classic, but Mickey Rooney's squinting, buck-toothed, pigin-accented, Asian is not funny now and probably wasn't that funny back then. But Blake Edwards never was one for much subtlety.

[Paddysmom]

Yeah... Pat Neal has a few really choice scenes in this. Of course, any scene she ever did in any movie was choice!
And Dan... ditto on Rooney. GAAAAAAG!