I started watching Breakfast At Tiffany’s the other night for no reason than upon flicking over I was astonished at the extraordinary visual quality. This is an old film. We’re talking 1961 here. That’s three years before Mary Poppins and four years before The Sound of Music; those two films being the only benchmark I have, as I’ve seen them on DVD. But watching Breakfast at Tiffany’s on standard def digital TV you’d be forgiven for thinking they filmed in digital back then! None of those artefacts like fibers or dust that you normally get with old films. I continued to watch in sheer amazement, just hoping, praying that I’d see that little speck of something pop up for a couple of frames. But nothing. Then I grinned at Audrey Hepburn’s character as she was chatting away at a million miles an hour. I couldn’t help thinking of my sister, bless her :-) And after that I forgot all about the specks of dust and just started watching it. I had no preconceived notions of what to expect, apart from a niggling curiosity to see whether or not I would be annoyed by yet another “old movie”.

I’m normally really not a fan of old films. But after watching this, I’m starting to reconsider that point of view. The film wasn’t great but it was really watchable. For some reason, old films usually just irritate me or  bore me to tears. An unfair generalisation? Perhaps. I’d define an “old film” as anything made before 1980 and experience just tells me, if it’s that old I probably won’t like it. Now I loved Mary Poppins when I was a kid, but got over it. With Breakfast At Tiffany’s the characters were pretty non-offensive, and some of them were even quite hilarious, Hepburn’s character included. The Japanese neighbour Mr. Yunioshi was also a crack up. It turns out he was played by Mickey Rooney would you believe it!? I did wonder at one point that Yunioshi was so shamefully stereotyped (let’s face it, just plain racist) that they’d have a hard time finding a Japanese actor willing to play the part. And I guess they did! For me the amusement comes not from laughing at “funny Japanese man” but from looking back with disbelief that such blatant racism was given a platform back then.

Spoiler Alert! More ramblings after the jump.

I suppose if I had to classify the film it would be a coming of age romantic comedy, with Hepburn’s character, Holly being a total phony for most of the film. Fiercely independent, she has charm and charisma, but in a way that I perceived as pretty manipulative, whether she knows it or not. Little about her is genuine until she takes more than a passing interest in Paul, a young writer in her building, whom she names Fred after her brother (which is a stealthy way of saying she’s only interested in a platonic way). Their relationship develops and the two become quite close especially after the most cheesy scene in which they decide to steal something from a junk shop just for the thrill of it. But Holly is unable to emotionally connect with Paul more than superficially. To the uninitiated viewer, this appears to be simply due to her reluctance to form close relationships of any kind but later you wonder if it stems from unresolved issues with her former husband, whom she has left. He refuses to accept their marriage annulment and has come looking for her. After leading the poor guy along with the premise that she would return to their home in Texas, she finally makes her disinterest known to him without ambiguity. Despite this resolution, Holly still has trouble connecting with Paul. Instead she fantasises about marrying a wealthy Brazilian man whose riches will purportedly bring her the happiness and “Tiffany’s lifestyle” she’s always dreamed of. Desperate to dissuade Holly, Paul confesses his love to her. Holly refuses to accept this, fearing that by falling in love, she will become a caged bird instead of the free-spirited wild thing she sees herself as. Angered by this, Paul confronts her saying: “Well baby, you’re already in that cage. You built it yourself [...] It’s wherever you go. Because no matter where you run, you just end up running into yourself.”

Wow, a character analysis! Crap movies don’t get these. Watch it if you have the chance.