Breakfast At Tiffanys

Reviewer: Alyice Edrich

Movie

Breakfast At Tiffany's, 1961

Plot

Two lost souls discover love, friendship, and hope when they learn to trust each other.

Starring

Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Cat, and more.

The Review

Child-bride, Lula Mae Barnes, knows there’s more to life than taking care of an older man’s children and living on a farm and she’s determined to find that “more” at whatever cost necessary. So she reinvents herself and becomes Holly Golightly; a call girl who relies on the kindness of gentleman to give her the life she so desires. And for the most part, she appears to love her life—the parties, the fancy outfits, the limelight. And yet, there’s something drastically missing from Holly’s life, as evident by her drastic mood swings and inability to truly connect with another living soul—including her beloved, orphaned cat.

And that’s where playboy, Paul Varjak, steps in. He’s an up-and-coming writer who pays his rent by sleeping with an older woman—a rich woman. And, for the most part, he doesn’t seem to mind his role. After all, it provides him with a nice safety net and allows him to fully focus on his goal to become an author; in which he’s not sure he can even make into a stable, life-supporting career.

The two are an odd match. Holly is naïve—yet street smart. She’s self-absorbed and flirtatious and very much loves a good party. Paul is quiet and down-to-earth but completely unsure of himself. You can tell that he desperately wants to find purpose in his life and has slowly begun to realize that purpose to be Holly. But Holly, deer sweet Holly, she’s just not ready for that kind of commitment because it means letting down her walls, it means trusting someone other than herself, and it means giving up on her dreams to have a rich, successful life.

The two enjoy each other’s company and they like being able to share the truths about themselves with one another, but when it comes down to it, Holly sees their relationship as nothing more than good friends with benefits. So when Paul decides to walk out of Holly’s life for good, it’s no surprise that she doesn’t hunt him down.

What was a surprise, however, was when she looked him up to say good-bye before running off to marry one of her rich suitors. It was then that Holly’s life took a real turn and the romance between the two heats up.

There’s a point where Holly tells Paul that “We’re a couple of no-name slobs. We belong to nobody and nobody belongs to us. We don’t even belong to each other.” and he replies, “People belong to each other because it’s the only real chance you have at happiness.” I loved that comeback! There was so much passion and truth in that statement, and it hit Holly right on the head and made her face her demons. And in the end, the two realized that they belonged together—and it was beautiful.

This film, had absolutely nothing to do with Tiffany’s except that Holly would always stop in front of Tiffany’s before returning home after one of her “encounters” and have a bite to eat as she relished in the beauty that was Tiffany’s—the exquisiteness of merchandise and the dreams of having it all.

What made the film work, I believe, is not the romance that grew between Holly and Paul but the realness of their characters and their ability to show just how dysfunctional—and yet loveable—they really were. It was also their ability to forgive, not just each other, but themselves and to give themselves, and each other, the permission to start over—fresh, and new, and without regrets!

Oh, and if you can get your hands on the Centennial Collection: Breakfast at Tiffany’s, I’d advise you to buy this edition. It has a second disc that’s filled with galleries, back stories about the film including a section entitled, “It’s So Audrey: A Style Icon”, and the original theatrical trailer. And the first disc includes a commentary by producer Richard Shepherd.

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