breakfast at tiffany’s [film studies]

8/10/2019 Breakfast at Tiffanys [film studies]

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Film Studies Jane Chen 10C

Breakfast at Tianys

Breakfast at Tianysis a movie adaption of a novella written bywriter Truman Capote !t follows the development of the relationship

between the "lms female prota#onist $olly %oli#htly and her newnei#hbour& the almost failin# writer& 'aul (ar)ak *s the "lmpro#resses& we the audien+e& like 'aul be#in to see the ,real $olly&and dis+over that she is not who she appears to be The plot isrelatively subtle and rather dull $owever *udrey $epburnsportrayal of $olly ,holds the movie to#ether *lthou#h manyreviewers des+ribe $olly fairly positively& either as ,+harmin#&,lovely or ,#or#eous& $ollys +hara+ter is not one that is +ompletelylikeable -any of her .ualities and a+tions +ause the audien+e to& attimes& feel a la+k of sympathy towards her /ven thou#h& $ollys+hara+ter is ,intri+ately de"ned& the depth of the rest of thesupportin# +hara+ters is insu+ient in +omparison and +annot bedes+ribed as full of ,life !t is a pity that -i+key ooneys portrayalof $olly %oli#htlys Japanese nei#hbour is so ra+ially stereotyped !tis de"nitely a failed attempt to provide +omi+ relief and almost,ruined the movie

!n +ontrast to many of the reviewer opinions& there is a lot to dislikeabout the +hara+ter $olly Thou#h des+ribed as ,sophis+ated&,ele#ant and ,beloved& upon +loser analysis of her +hara+ter& theaudien+e +an see that she is de"nitely not )ust the ,sweet& inno+ent

and beautiful party #irl *s the movie pro#resses& several in+identsmake us .uestion the positive li#ht in whi+h she is painted in Themore we look& the more we see her as bein# a +atty& sel"sh& and,phoney #irl& livin# o the little money she +an #et by doin# favoursfor wealthy men and )ailed mobsters She does not seem to +areabout others feelin#s& and thus most of her relationships are 2eetin#and meanin#less This is +learly seen in her brief relationships withboth usty Trawler 3a ri+h *meri+an4 and Jose da Silva 'ereira 3a ri+hBra5ilian4 $er desperate attempts to marry these two wealthy menin order to "nd her so +alled ,happiness throu#h money )ust makesher look absolutely patheti+ The audien+e is also dislikes $olly

when she re)e+ts 'aul ri#ht before the +on+lusion of the "lm& eventhou#h it is +lear she is in love with him This symbolises her refusalto a+knowled#e that happiness is ri#ht in front of her& and that itisnt ne+essarily full of ri+hes !t is to be a+knowled#ed that whilethis +hara+ter may have a lot of thin#s to dislike about her& andalthou#h she shouldnt )ust be +alled& ,beautiful& ,ele#ant& she stilldoes have a few thin#s we admire about her& and this is what makesher su+h an interestin# +hara+ter

The +hara+ters of the movie are all des+ribed by a reviewer as

,intri+ately de"ned to #ive them not )ust s+reen time but life$owever& the opposite +an be said about several of the +hara+ters


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that appear in the movie The reviewer #oes on to say that ,we +areabout ea+h +hara+ter& be+ause we #et to know and understand ea+hone of them !t is .uestionable whether the audien+e& #ets to knowusty& Jose& 6J& -r 7unioshi or even 'aul enou#h *part from theprota#onist& the other +hara+ters are not looked at +losely Take the

e8ample of 'aul& he is one of the ma)or +hara+ters and yet we do note8plore his +hara+ter in depth The audien+e knows him as analmost bankrupt writer dependent on the money #iven to him by amu+h older and wealthy woman That is as mu+h as we learn of himThe "lm rather& shows us $olly& and eventually how 'aul falls for herbut not who he is himself The "lm is ,mu+h more about *udrey$epburn +reatin# a .uirky& inno+ently sophisti+ated& and sli#htlybipolar +hara+ter named $olly %oli#htly than it is about the roman+ebetween $olly and her nei#hbour 'aul (ar)ak as one reviewer putsit and thus it would only be natural that $olly is the one +hara+terthat is ,intri+ately de"ned with the rest bein# mu+h more simple+hara+ters

There is unanimous a#reement a+ross all the reviews that -i+kooneys portrayal of $olly %oli#htlys Japanese nei#hbour ,intendedto provide broad +omedy at the time& but the s+enes provokeintense dis+omfort today $is +hara+ter was full of ra+ialstereotypes& from the badly done makeup& s.uinty eyes& bu+kteeth&to the ,traditional Japanese styled house ornaments $is ,+hin#9+han#9+hon# performan+e was one that was ,appallin#lystereotyped and should be ,eliminated from the history of +inema

The audien+e most likely wouldve found his portrayal as $olly%oli#htlys upstairs Japanese nei#hbour as addin# an ,unne+essarilyin+on#ruous note to the pro+eedin#s -r 7unioshis ra+iallyoensive +hara+ter& almost& if not ruins this +lassi+ "lm

Breakfast at Tianys #enerally obtains positive rea+tions from the+riti+s who review it !t is a +lassi+ that is revolved around thedeeply interestin# main +hara+ter of $olly %oli#htly -u+h of theinterest stems from the fa+t that she is not as the reviews say:thepurely bein# the ,lovely and ,ele#ant hi#h9+lass party #irl thateveryone likes She has some aspe+ts& for e8ample& her

+arelessness& in whi+h& we the audien+e do not ne+essarily like She+auses us to .uestion whether we should feel sympathy towards heror even like her +hara+ter This in9depth insi#ht into the +hara+ter$olly +onse.uently leaves not enou#h room to e8plore the manyother +hara+ters This and -i+key ooneys ra+ially stereotypi+al+hara+ter are the main setba+ks in an otherwise +lassi+& andtimeless movie


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eviews that ! rea+ted to;

1 Out of the elusive, but curiously intoxicating TrumanCapote ction, scenarist George Axelrod has developed asurprisingly moving lm, touched up into a stunningly visualmotion picture. Capote bus may nd some of Axelrods

fanciful alterations a bit too precocious, pat and glossy forcomfort, but enough of the originals charm and vigor hasbeen retained.eal as 'eppard=s wealthy =sponsor= -i+keyooney as a mu+h9harassed upstairs Japanese photo#rapher addsan unne+essarily in+on#ruous note to the pro+eedin#sThe "lm is a sleek& artisti+ pie+e of +raftsmanship& parti+ularlynotable for Fran5 F 'laner=s hauntin# photo#raphy and $enry-an+ini=s memorably moody s+ore The latter=s =-oon iver=& withlyri+s by Johnny -er+er& is an en+hantin# tune


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? * stylish +lassi+ with *udrey $epburnat her el"n& ele#ant best&Breakfast at Tiany's is almost& but not .uite& ruined by -i+keyooney=shideously stereotyped performan+e as $epburn=s Japanesenei#hbor& bu+k teeth and all !ntended to provide broad +omedy at

the time& the s+enes provoke intense dis+omfort today>evertheless& the movie=s bittersweet roman+e& and its #reat senseof hip and heartless >ew 7ork so+iety in the late 1@A0smake Breakfast at Tiany=sa "lm that=s still well worth wat+hin# Justfast9forward throu#h the bits with ooney as -r 7unioshiThe !lotThe movie be#ins at breakfast& with lovely $olly %oli#htly 3$epburn4&still dressed in an evenin# #own in the early mornin# li#ht& drinkin#a +ardboard +up of +oee and eatin# a danish as she wistfullybrowses the windows at Tiany=s * party #irl& $olly spends herevenin#s with a series of older men who seem to have lots of money3she routinely re+eives A0 when she #oes to the powder room& lon#before the powder room meant +o+aine4She lives in a barely furnished apartment where she washes herhair& hosts parties& and attends to an independent oran#e tabby6n+e a week& she traipses o to Sin#9Sin# to meet with admirerSally Tomato& an !talian #ent )ailed for mob a+tivities& who #ives herthe weather report to relay to his +ronies on the outside'aul (ar)ak 3%eor#e 'eppard4& a youn# writer whose "rst eortshowed promise& now suerin# from writer=s blo+k& is installed in theapartment above by his older& married mistress >aturally& he

befriends $olly 99 they=re both youn#& beautiful& and in essentiallythe same line of work $e learns that $olly is tryin# desperately torise above her surprisin# ori#ins The +entral stru##le of the movieis whether the two of them +an a++ept happiness and possiblepoverty to#ether& or +ontinue their attempts to trade up

D * near perfe+t blend of +omedy& roman+e& and minor tra#edy&Breakfast at Tiany=s is a must9see +lassi+ that& despite diversionsfrom Truman Capote=s ori#inal novel& remains his +learest statementon what it feels like to be youn#& ambitious& and on the make in arapa+ious +ity full of hidden a#endas

Set in present9day 1@E1 3as opposed to durin#


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$olly has an apartment in an pper /ast Side townhouse as doesJapanese photo#rapher -r 7unioshi 3-i+key ooney& in anappallin#ly stereotyped +hin#9+han#9+hon# performan+e thatshould be eliminated from the history of +inema4 and dashin#aspirin# writer 'aul (ar)ak 3%eor#e 'eppard4& who is sort of #ay in

the novel but .uite strai#ht here 'aul is fas+inated by $ollyG she"nds him +harmin# enou#h to invite him to one of the wild partiesshe throws in her apartment& where various types of out9of9townbusinessmen& dirty old men & and /urotrash #ather to swill boo5eand +a+kle with ea+h other $olly seems to have a hand in ea+h oneof their po+kets $er +at& named Cat& a ma)or +hara+ter in his ownri#ht& wat+hes all this with disdainCapote has no interest in tellin# a typi+al boy9meets9#irl love storyThe relationship between $olly and 'aul& whom she +alls Fred inhonor of her brother& evolves in unusual ways& espe+ially as welearn that Fred is #uilty of the same kind of shady behavior that he"nds so unattra+tive in $olly 3'atri+ia >eal is ele#antly terrifyin# asa +onnivin# interior de+orator whose po+ketbook is never far from'aul=s pant le#4But who is $olly anywayH


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relationship who only share in +ommon the fa+t that they have seen3a rarity4 and liked this "lm* relationship like that is about as stable as the one the movieportrays !f you think Breakfast at Tianysis your typi+al *udrey$epburn +hi+k 2i+k& beware The movie is mu+h more about *udrey

$epburn +reatin# a .uirky& inno+ently sophisti+ated& and sli#htlybipolar +hara+ter named $olly %oli#htly than it is about the roman+ebetween $olly and her nei#hbor 'aul (ar)ak!ts hard to say whether or not you should love $olly Shesasso+iated with e89mobsters and #entlemen es+orts&K but treatsthem )ust the same way she treats her unnamed +at:like an animalthat needs someone to wat+h after it for a bit She wont settle downfor any +onversation& let alone a relationship& but she still plans onmarryin# a South *meri+an millionaire $er parties +ause +haos allover her apartment buildin#& but she +limbs up the "re es+ape tovisit 'aul so inno+ently that it seems he should be oerin# her hot+o+oa rather than al+ohol *nd& of +ourse& she eats breakfast atTianys& +hasin# away her worries by starin# at the )ewelry sold inthe store

breakfast at tiffany’s [film studies]

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