Two for the Road

"Two For the Road" is a lovely, seriocomic movie about the ups and downs of a long relationship between Joanna (played by Audrey Hepburn) and Mark (played by Albert Finney). Joanna and Mark first cross paths as students traveling across Europe. They wind up hitchhiking together and eventually falling in love. The story is told through flashbacks. We follow the couple from their early carefree infatuation through marriage, parenthood, boredom, infidelity, and finally renewal of their relationship. Along the way, there are some memorable vignettes involving Joanna and Mark vacationing with another couple Howard and Cathy Manchester (amusingly played by William Daniels and Eleanor Bron) and their daughter Ruthie Manchester. Howard and Cathy must be the most wittily neurotic twosome in movies and their daughter Ruthie is probably the most obnoxious child in movie history. The performances are uniformly excellent. The direction by Stanley Donen is stylish and sophisticated. Frederic Raphael's screenplay is alternately romantic and cynical. And Henry Mancini's exquisitely beautiful score is one of this fine composer's very best. "Two For the Road" is an enormous pleasure.

A brilliant, funny, sad and true screenplay is the basis for this, one of the great films of the late 1960's. Director Stanley Donen who is blessed with wit and talent has headed such films as "Singing In The Rain", "Funny Face", and "Charade". Here he has assembled a marvelous cast in one of his finest efforts. It is one of his cleverest works that interlaces the past, present and future in one beautifully realized stream of consciousness in the now. One of the standout supporting performers is Eleanor Bron an accomplished British actress whom American audiences may remember as Patsy's mother from "Absolutely Fabulous". She is incredible with her very Bryn Mawr accent as one half of a parent team who is completely run by her bratty demanding child. She is just a joy to watch as the uncomfortable comedy unfolds. Albert Finney is fine in the demanding role of Mark Wallace, a young reluctant to marry fellow who at first prefers Jacqueline Bisset's more voluptuous charms to the more sophisticated allure of Audrey Hepburn. He hits all the right notes from early romance to bored married man. In this film we are given perhaps the finest of Audrey Hepburn's film performances. She is allowed to go to places in her character that few of her earlier films permitted. In the hands of a brilliant man like Donen she is an unfolding revelation of star power, talent and beauty. It is interesting to note that this is one of the few films in which Hubert De Givenchy did not dress her. Donen wanted a more realistic woman of her means and place. But even in off the rack clothes she looks incredible. Of course a great film always begins with a great screenplay and in "Two For The Road" we have a wonderful example of screenwriting by Fredric Raphael. I am especially fond of his sharp and still fresh use of time bending. Note how the Mark and Joanna of the late 60's pass the Mark and Joanna of the late 50's on the road. This writer takes us on a wonderful and insightful look into a marriage and what it takes to make it work. Cinematography by Christopher Challis is so crisp that it seems to have been shot only last week. Filled with the glorious panorama of France on the road, this is an utterly gorgeous film to watch. Also contributing to the film is composer Henry Mancini who with his haunting and evocative score brings so much to the feel and pace of the story. This is one of his best scores in a career filled with great music. Ultimately with all the wonderful contributions by all the artists and players one must tip one's hat to the genius behind it all, a great director and a fine artist in every sense, Stanley Donen. A real treat in this DVD of the Twentieth Century Fox Film Classics series is the addition of Mr. Donen's witty and delightful reminiscences of the making of the film on the director's commentary track. Like is commentary on the Criterion Collection of "Charade" Mr. Donen is just a joy to listen to. It is as if he has just dropped by to watch the film with you and in so doing he reveals himself to be nothing more than a charming man full of great stories to tell.

A classic romantic comedy. This is a wonderful movie. A story about a couple who meet and fall in love. This story is told in flashback and you see the love this couple has for one another. It shows the ups and downs of a relationship. The crazy anger, resentment, love, friendship, partnership that goes into any relationship. Who hasn't had a moment in their relationship where they thought to themselves about their partner, "I hate you." it doesn't mean you "hate" them, but are frustrated by their actions. Well this movie tells that story in a funny, romantic way and I highly recommend it. It is truly a love story because it is love that keeps this relationship going.

This Audrey Hepburn's vehicle from 1967 is not your typical romantic comedy. It has a lot of dark elements as it explores the relationship of Mark and Joanna Wallace (Albert Finney and Audrey Hepburn who was 38 at the time, even though at 38 her eternal youthfulness and beauty were still pristine). The beauty of France in the late 60s is exquisitely interwoven into this film about first love, courtship, marriage, parenthood and the growing indifferences a couple allow to creep into their relationship. It covers the whole gamut of emotions between Mark and Joanna. A young couple meets by happenstance and love develops like a 1945 Château Mouton Rothschild wine. When you toss in the beautiful music of Henry Mancini, you have a well-crafted story which at times is very complex as the history of this couple is shown in flashbacks. This is not a film which you can excuse yourself for several moments and come back to since the past or present may be showing leaving the viewer somewhat bewildered. Put it on pause. To miss just one scene is to miss an integral part of this film. There are many great scenes, especially the road trip with the Manchester Family (William Daniels, Eleanor Bron and Gabrielle Middleton) in their Ford Country Squire. This is great writing, acting, and pure humor. The ultimate fate of Mark's MG TD is a riot especially when the local townspeople expect remuneration for their help with his car. There is a very young 23 year-old Jacqueline Bisset who has a few lines as a potential love interest for Mark Wallace. One can see why she became an international starlet. The cars and the clothes are priceless. Audrey Hepburn looked stunning in an array of clothes from plain outfits to bathing suits and evening gowns. Nominated for an academy award for being written directly for the screen. Won best foreign film in Spain and in Great Britain, best screenplay. Production cost was $4 million. Worldwide gross was $12 million.

AT LONG LAST, Fox has FINALLY put this movie out on DVD. This is one of my favorite films and along with Roman Holiday, my favorite Audrey Hepburn film. Released in 1967, decades ahead of its time, it was over the heads of most viewers and failed to find much of an audience. But over the years its attracted a fanatical cult who just love it. And I'm certainly among them. Road is what I'd call a realistically romantic love story. One that ends HOPEFULLY more so than happily ever after. Rather than tell the story in a conventional sense, writer Frederic Raphael (Darling; Eyes Wide Shut) tells it in a series of flashbacks. But even the flashbacks dont unfold in a conventional sense. Rather, like memories, they weave in and out of time: linked by locales, people, even conversations. The movie opens with Joanna and Mark wondering if its all been worth it after 12 yrs of marriage. Both are somewhat bitter and cynical and wondering what went wrong. Using their summer vacations to France as they travel through their marriage memories, the movie is a unique cinematic road trip. The movie isnt that difficult to follow. There are a half dozen different time periods and you can easily tell where you are in time by the cars, Hepburn's clothes and hair styles and the like. Hepburn and Finney have great chemistry (there were rumors of an affair and it was true her marriage broke up around a year later, so who knows?) There are great bits by Eleanor Bron and William Daniels as buffoonic American tourists, wonderful locales, great scenery, Henry Mancini music. What more could you ask for? Hepburn in particular is a revelation in this. She never had a more complex role (before or since) and gives what is perhaps her career peak performance. (One wonders what roles she could have played had she not retired soon after this movie came out. She was certainly capable of more than Hollywood demanded of her. What a waste!). She swears (charmingly); commits adultery, even has several semi-nude scenes! She has never looked more beautiful on the screen. This movie is a class act all the way. The kind of sophisticated romance that Hollywood, sadly, doesnt make anymore. (Come to think of it, the genre began to disappear after Hepburn stopped making films...). From Stanley Donen's direction, the wonderfully witty script and editing (characters start a sentence in one time period and end it in another; pass each other on the road...);the gorgeous photography and scenery; Henry Mancini's score (perhaps his best). Its amazing that only the script was nominated for an Oscar (and lost to Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, if you can believe that!) Hepburn was nominated that year but for the far inferior film, Wait Until Dark. This is one of the best and best loved movies from the 60's. Join the cult! Buy it for someone you love! More important SEE it with someone you love! I guarantee its one movie you'll want to watch over and over. A wonderful Christmas gift too!

This film is truly a wonder. How does it manage to charm us so after many years? To start with, a wonderful cast with Albert Finney and Audrey Hepburn starring, Jacqueline Bisset and Eleanor Bron and others in supporting roles, but Hepburn and Finney run away with the honors. Stanley Donen of "Singing in the Rain" among his many credits directed and achieved stunning realism. Then there's music by Henry Mancini. What's more, a very touching and funny story: a very realistic portrayal of an adorable couple, from when they first met while travelling in Europe, both fancy free bohemians in spirit, to the present when they are driving a Mercedes coupe and are clearly successful. However, even the bumps along the way, the arguments, the hurts, the making-ups, even the extra-marital affairs, all ring true as a very realistic story of a couple as they pass through the various phases of their life together. Flirting, passion, arguments, fights, hurts, joy, a child, and most of all humor are all here on display.There are laughs galore throughout which help lead the story along, and don't come across as add-ons for the sake of a joke or to throw some humor at the audience watching. To Donen's great credit , the story unfolds not in a linear straight-ahead fashion, but rather back and forth in flashbacks and forwards, sometimes even overlapping. Never a drag, never a dull moment. This film will sadden you when it's over because you'll want more, you won't want it to end! This is a film that is engrossing, funny, touching and wonderful even after repeat viewings; knowing the plotline and story doesn't decrease the viewer's enjoyment. The actors are all top notch and the story is joyfully realistic and easy-to-believe, wonderfully told with the direction and editing of Donen, a great master of mid-century American cinema! If you don't know or even don't like (is there really anyone in that category?) Audrey Hepburn, this film will open your eyes and change your mind; if you are already a Hepburn fan, this film rates 10 stars, not merely 5! It's a joy to watch from beginning to end. It is up there with Funny Face, Roman Holiday,Charade, Nuns Story, and Breakfast at Tiffanys.

Confusing….continual editing was a problem with continuity…

1967 marked the end of Audrey Hepburn's continuous reign as a major film star. After this her cinema appearances would be sporadic and in vehicles of uneven quality. She certainly went out with a bang, giving two topnotch performances in films that year, of which "Two for the Road" is one ("Wait Until Dark" is the other). The lush photography of the French countryside and equally lush score by Henry Mancini link this film with other glossy Hepburn vehicles such as "Charade," but Stanley Donen's film of a Frederic Raphael screenplay is a surprisingly acerbic and unsparing take on marriage. Mark Wallace (Albert Finney), an architect, and his wife Joanna (Hepburn) arrive in France, called to a project by his demanding boss. Their twelve-year union is obviously not in the best of shape, and as they travel toward their destination scenes from previous journeys they have taken together as a couple are intercut in alternately amusing, ironic and poignant flashbacks. The fluid time structure of the film remains remarkably fresh, and Hepburn rises to the demands of playing a woman at multiple ages and stages of life with ease, giving one of her finest and subtly shaded film performances, though a viewer with a heart of stone would have to admit she looks too mature for the earliest scenes in which she is supposed to be a college co-ed. Finney by comparison is one-note and overbearing early on, though he settles down as the film progresses, or perhaps the grating persona is deliberately imposed by the actor. At any rate the chemistry between him and Hepburn is obvious and adds to the credibility of the story; reports of an on-set romance seem entirely plausible. Not all of "Two for the Road" has aged equally well--the attempts at outright comedy, such as a running gag involving a lost passport, are now strained and a sequence with a smug American couple and their monster of a daughter descends into caricature. But as a gritty portrait of a long-term relationship and the compromises one must make, it holds up well against many successors. It must be said in closing, too, that Hepburn wears her frequently outlandish fashions with enviable ease. Highly recommended.