Classic Film Review: The Nun's Story (1959)

The Nun's Story stars Audrey Hepburn as Gabrielle van der Mal, the daughter of a respected doctor (Dean Jagger), who decides to enter a convent with the ultimate aim of being able to battle tropical diseases in the Congo. It follows her various trials to get there and her troubles with her faith that manifest themselves most acutely when she meets Dr Fortunati (Peter Finch) and after the outbreak of war.

This is a pretty long film and, at times, it feels too long. While I found the intricacies of entering the convent and their teachings fascinating, I'm quite probably in the minority on that score. The opening section of the film, then, can be seen as lengthy and, something that certainty doesn't help a viewer trying to hook onto something, are all the various nuns who flit in and out of the film. Such luminaries as Edith Evans and Peggy Ashcroft have roles but keeping everyone straight, especially in the different locations, is tricky. However, in a film of this breadth that's to be expected.

Those are my criticisms but there's plenty to enjoy in this film. Audrey Hepburn is, quite simply, brilliant as Sister Luke, conveying more in the simple flicker of her eyes than most actresses could do with a placard held up. Her struggles, though rarely directly spoken of, are manifest in every scene, growing stronger as time passes. There's never a moment where the audience doesn't know what she's thinking, even if the person she's speaking to is clueless.

Beyond Hepburn's performances, the unshrinking depiction of religious life and the struggles faced by nuns is notable, along with the brief entry into the world of mental health care. Similarly, there is one scene later that is extremely shocking, more so because it comes out of nowhere. The dramatic moments in this film are few and far between but it's never boring. In addition, the score is wonderful and the direction so precise that you can feel the dedication in every moment.

Ultimately, this is a film to watch at least once. I may not watch it again because of the length but it's an exceptional Audrey Hepburn film - and that's a feat in itself.

Classic Film Review: Charade (1963)

Charade stars Audrey Hepburn as Regina Lampert, a woman who returns to Paris from holiday to find that her husband sold all their possessions and was then murdered on a train. The police want to know what he did with the money, so does government official Hamilton Bartholemew (Walter Matthau) and three strangers who turn up at his funeral. Regina is supported at this difficult time by Peter Joshua (Cary Grant), someone she barely knows who seems to be hiding a few secrets of his own. As it transpires that her husband's murderer is out to get her, believing she has the money, it becomes a race against time to save her life. And where is the money?

I adored this film. Hepburn and Grant work brilliantly together, large age-gap or not. Sometimes with films you get the impression that the cast were having as fun a time putting it together as the audience subsequently gets in watching it and this is one of those films. The witty dialogue between Regina and Peter Joshua during their first meeting sets the tone for the rest of the film and it's downright fantastic. They bounce off each other so well and there's a warmth between them that's unmistakable.

As for the story, it kept me hooked. I was a few steps ahead of the narrative but, really, I just enjoyed the ride. It was very well-written with numerous twists and turns and some clever digs at the thriller genre. We've got a rooftop fight, a dead man in a bath, concealed identities and a tense stand-off in a deserted theatre. It cranks up the atmosphere whilst still remaining amusing. Almost inevitably, my favourite scenes are Grant/Hepburn ones: the early scene already mentioned, the scene in the club where they're roped in as volunteers and the brilliant shower scene that had me in fits of laughter. My favourite moment is probably when Regina asks Peter how he shaves inside that famous Cary Grant dimple.

Charade rocketed onto the list of my favourite films, joining the likes of Bringing Up Baby, The African Queen and Rebecca. That company should indicate quite how wonderful this film is. Completely recommended.

Birthdays Are Book Days

It's that time again. Another year older (which I'm trying not to think about) and something that goes hand-in-hand with birthdays for me - a cornucopia of new books. As far back as I can remember, if people were stuck for a present for me, they just got me a book and I never complained. I recall car journeys to the coast on birthdays with my nose more in a new book than bothered about sniffing the sea air. Don't worry, I eventually put it down and did kid stuff but the point is that birthdays and books are entwined in my head.

I went to York for a few days and went a little crazy in the book department. It's easy to be free with someone else's money but this is my York haul:

Three shops contributed to that. I've been meaning to read Brody's Kate Shackleton series from the beginning since I read A Woman Unknown (reviewed here) over a year ago but I'd got it into my head that I wanted to buy it from a 'proper' bookshop in Yorkshire and, being too dippy to order it in, I was waiting until I found it. Looking forward to that one immensely. The Stella Gibbons book will be the fourth of hers that I've read (and still haven't touched Cold Comfort Farm) and, although the last one I read was a little odd, I do have high hopes for this one. As for Jude the Obscure... Well, I might give that a wide berth for a while. I want to read it but Hardy tends to emotionally break me. 

Now the non-fiction. Out of the five, Dickens and the Artists is probably the most intriguing and the prettiest. Dickens and the Social Order might be put off until I've read two of the novels it discusses but it was too good a deal to ignore and, while I've heard mixed things about the Collins biography, I couldn't really pass that up either. The Virginia Woolf book, although small, is notable for the illustrations so that should be good and as for Yorkshire's Murderous Women... Can I just point out that until I started studying sensation fiction my interest in gruesome historical murders was almost nil? I think we can blame Edmund Yates and Wilkie Collins for that one. 

There's one other book to mention, a present from a good friend who aims to aid my procrastination by giving me books like this: 

She knows me so well.

Here, have Audrey Hepburn singing (with her real, charming voice) in a bookshop in Funny Face:

Classic Film Review: Roman Holiday (1953)

Roman Holiday stars Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn in one of her first major roles. Princess Ann (Hepburn) is tired of her monotonous existence touring counties, repeating the same speeches and generally being sheltered by her guardians on the way. One night she slips out of their grasp into the city of Rome. However, the sedative she's been prescribed to help her sleep kicks in belatedly and she's found by journalist Joe Bradley (Peck) slumbering on a bench. Unable to get any sense out of her, he is forced to take her back to his apartment. The next morning he realises just who she is and sets out to get an exclusive, with help from his photographer friend Irving Radovich (Eddie Albert).

Hepburn is wonderful in this film. Her natural elegance shines through in the role and she and Peck have an excellent rapport. Peck himself is just perfect in an understated performance that does everything right. From the amusing scenes as he tries to get Ann home to the painful final scene, Peck is downright brilliant. So, for that matter, is Eddie Albert as his friend. I had difficulty placing Albert at first (I knew him from Oklahoma) but as the fiery, and sometimes clueless, Irving he's excellent. Even the supporting roles are superb - Margaret Rawlings performs wonders with her eyes in her scenes as Countess Vereberg while Alfredo Rizzo is hilarious as the taxi driver almost given responsibility of the drugged Princess Ann. I can't think of an actor who let the film down in all honesty.

Apparently Roman Holiday was filmed in black and while so that the wonderful scenery wouldn't overshadow the stars. If this is true then I'd point out that Paris didn't overshadow Hepburn a few years later in Funny Face (1957). However, the lack of colour doesn't hinder the beauty of the film and perhaps it was the right decision. There are also a couple of excellent touches throughout which attest to the care this film was created with, my favourite being the use of mirrors towards the beginning. All in all, this is a beautiful comic romance although, it has to be said, the ending is tinged with sadness.

Classic Film Review: Sabrina (1954)

Sabrina is one of those films that most people rave about so I was left wondering whether I'd be underwhelmed by it. However, far from being disappointed, I thoroughly enjoyed the film. Audrey Hepburn plays Sabrina Fairchild, the daughter of the Larrabee family's chauffeur. She has been in love with younger brother, David (William Holden), for as long as she can remember. David has been through three wives already and hasn't done a day's work in his life, much to the exasperation of older brother, Linus (Humphrey Bogart). Sabrina is sent to a cookery school in Paris and comes back a much more refined and elegant woman. David doesn't recognise her at first but soon falls head over heels in love with her. Again, this infuriates Linus - he's arranged another marriage for David which will actually benefit the company this time. He takes it upon himself to make Sabrina fall in love with him, planning to ship her back off to Paris. Unfortunately, his master-plan didn't include his own feelings towards Sabrina changing.

My niggle out of the way first: I wasn't keen on Hepburn's voice-over at the beginning of the film explaining who everybody was. However, perhaps it was necessary to get the film moving swiftly. After that I really have no niggles at all. Despite disliking William Holden in Picnic (1955), I've come to the conclusion that he was miscast in that role because he was wonderful as David Larrabee - just the right side of sleazy with an excellent comic aspect to his personality. Bogart, although he was a late choice for the role, really made it his own. It's very difficult to imagine anyone else playing Linus with the seriousness required whilst still being able to demonstrate a change under the surface of the character. Hepburn demonstrated the various facets of Sabrina's personality - from mournful youth to self-assured lady - with aplomb and the early suicide attempt where a puzzled Linus rescues her from the garage is probably my favourite scene of the film. That said, I enjoyed the musical themes running throughout: 'Isn't It Romantic?' for David and 'La Vie En Rose' for Linus. Sabrina's brief singing of the latter while she drives with Linus is another favourite moment for me, and leaves me wondering yet again why her singing voice was dubbed in My Fair Lady (1964).

Alongside the leads, there were also some amusing performances from secondary characters. Walter Hampden as the Larrabee patriarch offered some light entertainment, hiding his cigars and trying in vain to get olives out of jars. Special mention should also go to Ellen Corby as Miss McCardle, Linus's secretary. Although it was a tiny role she made a very favourite impression on me.

All in all, a brilliant film that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend. I'm amazed it took me this long to get to it myself.