Thursday, August 19, 2010

How to steal a million

It's another Audrey Hepburn film taking place in Paris! Hepburn's dad is lending a statue to a museum and she and Peter O'Toole must steal it back before an upcoming technical examination will show that it's a forgery.

Lawrence of Arabia tries to do his best Cary Grant, but has a constant look of What am I doing here? The heist itself is endearingly lowtech. Okay, there are laserbeams around the statue, but no surveillance cameras or motion detectors that must be avoided. The film is a bit slow in the middle, and could maybe have used a surprise or two to turn the story around, but is still harmlessly romantic. Audrey Hepburn is, as always, good, but she is pretty much doing Audrey Hepburn. It's not the acting challenge that Wait Until Dark was.

Next: Two for the road.

4 comments:

  1. How to steal a million? Ask the left bank gang...

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  2. It is? I've finished half the movie, and I'm a bit disappointed...

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  3. Ah well, matters of taste...

    I think the script is excellent, with perfectly timed jumps in the chronology, which help keep the suspense in the story.
    If the story was told in chronological order you wouldn't believe that such a bored, bitter, cynical couple stood a chance. But then there's that reminder of why they loved each other and had a great time together, and the possibility of a happy ending revives...

    Also I find Albert Finney's persona has a roughness that makes him an interesting choice for a romantic comedy. He's not instantly likeable, so he has to work harder.

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