Two for the Road (1967)

Sophisticated Sixties Sleeper very much of its time
Two for the Road is a 1967 comedy/drama about a marriage over a period of about 7 years (their first car has a Jan. 1960 sticker). The chronological juxtaposition is something reminiscent of "A Man and a Woman" as well as other French new wave films of the time. And the sophisticated take on marriage perhaps partially inspired by "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf". Audrey Hepburn gets to wear about 50 or so outfits mostly straight off the Carnaby Street racks. And it's interesting to see Albert Finney as the Alfie-type husband.

It's got some great comedy even if the recurring lost passport joke is too formulaic, and some highly sophisticated drama focusing on the problems of the marriage. And of course Henry Mancini's great score.

Freeway of love
A swinging 60s version of Scenes from a Marriage. Director Stanley Donen whips up a masterful cinematic soufflé here, folding in a sophisticated script by Frederick Raphael, a generous helping of Albert Finney and Audrey Hepburn, and topping it all off with a real cherry of a score by the great Henry Mancini. Donen follows the travails of a married couple over the years of their relationship, by constructing a series of non-linear flashbacks and flash-forwards (a structural device that has been utilized since by other filmmakers, but rarely as effectively). While ostensibly a "romantic comedy", Two For the Road is, at its heart, a thoughtful meditation on the nature of love and true commitment. Finney and Hepburn have great on-screen chemistry (and both were at the peak of their physical beauty-which doesn't hurt). Colorful European locales provide additional icing on the cake. This is one of those films (like The Way We Were) that some people form an emotional bond with.

Smart, charming 60's romance
I saw this movie when it first came out as I was a huge fan of both Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney. I remember loving it and was happy to find the DVD on the shelf of my local library this week. It's interesting to me to see how I react to films that I loved long ago. Some hold up in my mind, some surpass my memories and some disappoint. I'm sorry that this film falls into the latter category.

It's still wonderful in its way---one of the last of the genre of romance films starring big named actors, set in glamourous locals....often in the south of France. I enjoyed them all. This rather combines the best of those films with the realistic seriousness that became popular soon after. This isn't just a "boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, fall out of love and fall back in love" story. We see the details which are painfully familiar to almost anyone who has ever been in love.

Still we get the lush scenery of bucolic France while it was still the perfect setting for any love affair. The music by Henry Mancini brings back the whole feeling of the time. So there is plenty of pleasure for eye and ear. Hepburn is sensationally beautiful and wears all of the costumes of the 12 year period the film spans with great style. It's fun just to see what she's going to wear next. We see the variety of modes of transportation, starting with Hepburn and her choir in an old VW bus, and Finney on the back of a tractor, and progressing through a series of cars as their prosperity increases. There are scenes on the Mediterranean and in sumptuous villas, charming little hotels and luxurious bigger hotels. It's a terrific travelog cum story.

The story has its ups and downs like any marriage and it's a good thing that it is played out against such a gorgeous background and stars such attractive people, because it is a little wearing, frankly. He is selfish, she is selfish. He pays more attention to his work than his family. She nags him. He has an affair. She has an affair -- the common stuff you can read about in any Ann Landers column. But these are movie stars and we are supposed to care about them. I was impressed by all the surface beauty back in '67; today I forgot about these characters five minutes after the show was over. There's a lot of talent involved but I think the movie's value is of a charming, colorful period piece.