Many fans of Audrey Hepburn believe that her best and most mature role was that of Holly Golightly in "Breakfast at Tiffany's", the film which immortalized her in a diamond tiara and little black dress. But those fans will have a big surprise coming for them with this little-seen gem, her most free and spirited performance of her career.
The film chronicles the 12-year marriage of Joanna, a sweet chorus girl, and Mark Wallace, an architect. Out of chronological order--I want to mention that this film came 30 years before Memento and 21 Grams were even conceived--the film follows them from their first love-at-first-sight meeting to their bitter arguments and casual infidelities, all on road trips to the same beach where they fell in love. Through the highs and the lows, their love always shines through.
Audrey had to let go of many "safety nets" to make this movie. For one, she let go of her trademark Givenchey wardrobe, as it would be unsuitable for the wife of an architect. The plot and film-making was unlike her usual Cinderella-like romantic comedies. Off-screen, her marriage to Mel Ferrer was crumbling (they would divorce only a year later). This film was an escape, and she was never more vulnerable, free or real in her whole film career. The chemistry she has with Albert Finney is so wonderful, thanks mostly to the fact that for a rare time in her career she was given a male love interest who was close to her own age (Finney was actually 7 years YOUNGER than Hepburn). They just seem to click, like great film romances should. They deliver witty and bitter lines with precise timing, utterly in tune with each other.
This is a perfect romantic-comedy/drama, a film that rings true for anyone who is married or is just disillusioned with happily-ever-after films (such as me). It may not be one of Hepburn's better-known films, but it's certainly one of her best.
