'Breakfast at Tiffany's' revisited
Campus Times
March 7, 1997
Perhaps one of the most underrated films of its time, "Breakfast
at Tiffany's" brought the highly spirited Truman Capote character,
Holly Golightly, to life on the movie screen.
Although the film is based on the Capote novella of the same name and
keeps the same light-hearted theme, the plot to "Breakfast at Tiffany's"
differs from the book by changing some of the themes for a film audience.
First released in 1961, the film met high critical acclaim, but it was
hardly a big hit at the box office.
The film portrays the life of a New York City "party girl,"
Holly, of the early '60s. It was rumored at the time that Capote wrote the
book with Marilyn Monroe in mind as Holly, so when director Blake Edwards
("10," "Victor/ Victoria") cast Audrey Hepburn as Holly,
it was a test to Hepburn's talent.
The role was a stretch for Hepburn as she was an extremely introverted
person and Holly personified "outgoing."
In "Audrey Hepburn: An Intimate Portrait" she said of the
role of Holly Golightly, "I was nothing like her, but I felt I could
'act' Holly...I knew the part would be a challenge, but I wanted it anyway."
It was a direction that Hepburn had never taken in her film roles. She
made her debut as an innocent girl in "Roman Holiday" and played
the lead in the original version of "Sabrina."
George Peppard was cast opposite Hepburn as Holly's new neighbor and
friend, Paul Varjack, who helps Holly overcome some of her fears of ending
up alone. Micky Rooney adds some comedy to the film as his portrayal of
Mr. Yunioshi, the landlord, annoyed by all of the noise coming from Holly's
apartment.
Holly is the girl everyone wants to be: carefree, outgoing and doing
whatever she wants whenever she wants. She describes herself by saying,
"I'm used to being the top banana in the shock department."
Holly lives her life to be the girl that everybody wants to know, the
one that people envy. She knows everyone and everyone knows her. She keeps
her apartment modestly furnished with the bare essentials, her refrigerator
stocked with cottage cheese and she wears little black dresses.
She affords all of this by accepting $50 "donations" from
her dates to go to the powder room and she also receives a "salary"
by visiting gangster Sally Tomato at Sing Sing prison and delivering the
"weather report" to Tomato's lawyer.
Holly is a character who is sure of herself on the outside but very
insecure on the inside, and it was Hepburn's own insecurities about herself
that made the audience believe that Holly's emotions were real.
The first scene where Holly and Paul meet, Holly tells Paul about why
Tiffany and Co., the jewelry store, has a calming effect on her and one
is able to catch a glimpse into Holly's mind.
"The 'blues' are because you are getting fat or maybe it's been
raining too long. You're just sad, that's all. The 'Mean Reds' are horrible.
Suddenly you're afraid, and you don't even know what you're afraid of.
Did you ever get that feeling?...Well, when I get it, the only thing
that does any good is to jump into a cab and go to Tiffany's. Calms me down
right away. The quietness and the proud look of it. Nothing very bad can
happen to you there."
Peppard delivers a barely passable role as Paul in which the most emotion
we see from him is at the end of the film as Holly is running away from
everything.
"Do you know what's wrong with you, Miss Whoever-You-Are?"
he says. "You're chicken. You got no guts...You call yourself a free
spirit, a wild thing, and you're terrified somebody's going to stick you
in a cage.
Well, baby, you're already in that cage... It's wherever you go because
no matter where you run, you just end up running into yourself."
The critical acclaim came from Hepburn's portrayal of Holly and Edward's
ability to bring the comedy of the film together with the seriousness of
it and to make them work together on the screen.
The musical theme to "Breakfast at Tiffany's" also won critical
acclaim. "Moon River" won the Academy Award in 1961 for best song
and composer Henry Mancini won for the best score for a drama or comedy.