"Breakfast At Tiffany's", from Truman Capote's acerbic novella, is so lushly produced and plushly designed it seems to take place in a New York City dream-world. Audrey Hepburn plays party-girl Holly Golightly with flaky flair, yet she never has to force herself to be a groovy extrovert--she encompasses all of Holly's faults and dizzy highs with just one of the deep little laughs that seem to well up from her chest. I didn't mind Mickey Rooney as Mr. Yunioshi (I forgot it was him) and since the movie's edge softens a bit as the film goes on, it needs Yunioshi for some of that low-down comedy inherent in the film's first hour. George Peppard as neighbor Paul is perhaps too smooth and a ready-match for Holly (he only bristles a bit early on), but Peppard as an actor is suitable for Hepburn, he allows her room to sparkle while keeping the film grounded. His frequent bemused looks are charming, and I thought his scenes with Patricia Neal were very good (the filmmakers are a little tough on Neal: she's made to seem decadent and lascivious, and when Peppard calls her on it, I'm not sure if we're supposed to feel sympathy for her, though I did). The opening moments with Hepburn standing in front of Tiffany & Co. are as miraculous as any scene from any movie of this era, and the rest of the film effortlessly emulates that early magic.
Review of Breakfast at Tiffany's
