Given the fact that GOODBYE AGAIN (based on a novel by Francoise Sagan) is very thin material indeed, it's a wonder that INGRID BERGMAN fits so comfortably in the role of a mature (but still lovely) woman who has a young man adoring her (ANTHONY PERKINS) despite the obvious age difference.
Perkins gives a rather skittish performance as the rich and admittedly spoiled playboy who casts loving looks at Bergman from the moment they meet. YVES MONTAND is charming as the heavily accented Frenchman who also has romantic designs on Bergman and their scenes together have a bit more conviction than those involving Bergman and Perkins.
If this had been filmed in the '40s, it would have been labeled a "woman's film", the sort of weepie that kept devotees of Barbara Stanwyck and Joan Crawford happy. It's a silky smooth "weeper", a bittersweet tale of an ill-fated affair between a much older, more experienced woman and a playful young man. As such, it no doubt appealed to the fantasies of many women, but it does seem a strange choice of material for director Anatole Litvak to pursue, given his reputation for filming some grim melodramas in his time.
The one note theme of the film--falling in love with the wrong person at the wrong time--becomes a bit tiresome before the first hour is over. In short, the story drags rather than moves forward despite the quality of the acting.
Highly recommended for fans of Ingrid Bergman who want to see her looking beautiful in her mid-forties wearing a number of flattering Christian Dior outfits. Otherwise, it tends to try the patience of the average male viewer with its appeal largely directed at women.
Perkins gives a rather skittish performance as the rich and admittedly spoiled playboy who casts loving looks at Bergman from the moment they meet. YVES MONTAND is charming as the heavily accented Frenchman who also has romantic designs on Bergman and their scenes together have a bit more conviction than those involving Bergman and Perkins.
If this had been filmed in the '40s, it would have been labeled a "woman's film", the sort of weepie that kept devotees of Barbara Stanwyck and Joan Crawford happy. It's a silky smooth "weeper", a bittersweet tale of an ill-fated affair between a much older, more experienced woman and a playful young man. As such, it no doubt appealed to the fantasies of many women, but it does seem a strange choice of material for director Anatole Litvak to pursue, given his reputation for filming some grim melodramas in his time.
The one note theme of the film--falling in love with the wrong person at the wrong time--becomes a bit tiresome before the first hour is over. In short, the story drags rather than moves forward despite the quality of the acting.
Highly recommended for fans of Ingrid Bergman who want to see her looking beautiful in her mid-forties wearing a number of flattering Christian Dior outfits. Otherwise, it tends to try the patience of the average male viewer with its appeal largely directed at women.