Roman HolidayLife in the public eye is rarely real life. Roman Holiday is a romantic comedy about a young princess named Ann (Audrey Hepburn), who is overwhelmed by the constant pageantry and formality of her position. One night, she escapes from her palatial residence in Rome to experience life as one of the city's residents. But a poorly timed sedative she receives before leaves her in a stupor. She is discovered by a cynical newspaper writer named Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck), who begrudgingly takes her home rather than leaving her on the streets, not knowing her true identity. When he does discover it, he draws up a scheme to write an exclusive story about the young royal, all while feigning ignorance at who she really is.
|
|
Roman Holiday was the breakthrough role for Audrey Hepburn, and it's not hard to see why she became such a sensation afterward. As the sheltered princess whose every minute is tightly scheduled to include meetings and conferences, her early breakdown is totally plausible, as is her urgent need to escape. Hepburn defines charm in Roman Holiday, and her relative youth only makes her emotional crisis appear all the more authentic. To Princess Ann, the world she is a part of governing--even if at the most superficial level--is known only from the balcony of her embassy suite, foreign to her on every level. Conversely, Joe is a man who has made his living by framing the most sensational elements of that world to satisfy the demands of his frustrated editor, Mr. Hennessy (Hartley Power). Joe's life lacks any real meaning, mirroring the way Ann feels about her own. He unsuccessfully gambles away his paycheck with his colleagues, including photographer Irving Radovich (Eddie Albert), and is already in debt to Hennessy, his landlord, and probably more, by the time we first meet him. Joe's aimlessness is crucial to his character, because it motivates his short-term goal of essentially exploiting Ann by getting a hot story out of her. But on a deeper level reveals a more intrinsic longing, from which the movie's romance germinates. Frankly, Joe is portrayed as a bit of a cad, even if a gentlemanly one, strange as that may sound. Presuming the sedated Ann to be drunk, he actually acts with chivalry to spend the last of his lira to hire a taxi to take her home. But Joe can't get an address out of the stupefied Ann, and is forced to take her back to his place, frustrated at how it appears. The muddled Ann inadvertently makes comments while under the influence that to a less scrupulous man could lead to unwanted affection. Joe, on the other hand, loans her his pajamas and instructs her to sleep on the couch; she sleeps on his bed instead. Joe's patience already tested, unceremoniously dumps her on the couch so he can get a proper sleep himself. These early scenes may be lengthy, but they are crucial in establishing both Joe and Ann's characters. Ann is completely naive to the dangers of the real world by putting herself in such a precarious position, emphasizing that she has a lot of growing up to do. Joe, despite his readiness to lie and manipulate, is deep down a respectable man who wouldn't deliberately hurt someone, and would even share his meager finances with someone less fortunate...or at least someone he believes to be less fortunate in the moment.
The focus of Roman Holiday shifts from Ann's dilemma to Joe's after he realizes who has crashed at his studio apartment. From here, his bet with Hennessy becomes the main conflict, and Ann essentially starts getting treated like a valuable prize. In short, he manipulates events and colludes with Irving to document and capitalize on "a day in the life" with a princess. Perhaps it comes from a sense of entitlement owing to the frustrations she caused him the night before, but Joe starts shelling out lies with surprising ease about who he is and why he wants her to spend the day with him instead of letting her return to the embassy. In her absence, Ann's courtly advisors have fabricated a story that she has taken ill, and have hired a squad of conspicuous agents to track her down and drag her back home, if necessary. Despite the pretense, Joe takes Ann to places she wants to visit, including a sidewalk cafe and even for a ride on a Vespa to see Rome firsthand. Perhaps knowing that Ann wouldn't use the money Joe gave her on a cab, he trails her and witnesses her buying new (more practical) shoes for herself, and getting her hair cut into a far trendier and sportier do that no doubt inspired hundreds of viewers to copy it for themselves. As with her haircut, Ann herself transforms over the course of this day, gaining a breadth of experience that fills her with joy, even if it sometimes is accompanied by an encounter with the police. Yet Joe sees only dollar signs for so much of this stretch that it becomes difficult to empathize with him, knowing full well that he and Irving ultimately mean to embarrass her (and her country) by revealing the lie that she was not ill after publishing an account of her whereabouts and "unroyal" behavior publicly. It isn't until a brawl at a riverside dance where Joe and Ann begin to discover blossoming feelings for one another. From here, Joe begins to reconsider his mercenary values, and sees Ann as more than just a meal ticket. Now the conflict transforms from Joe getting the story to an ethical crisis--whether he should or should not publish the story, humiliating Ann or disappointing Irving and losing a serious bet; you can probably guess what he does. Furthermore, Roman Holiday avoids some cliches of the romantic comedy by refraining from Joe and Ann making declarations of love or promises to be with each other that they know very well that they can't keep. Instead, the remaining time they spend together is wistful and full of a sense of finality. They both have grown into better people by being with one another, and subsequently found what they needed, even if they didn't know that they did. For Ann, it was not just freedom but maturity and life experience; for Joe, it wasn't easy money, but compassion and tenderness. Roman Holiday offers that even when the relationships we forge end, we should emerge from them as better people.
Recommended for: Fans of a charming romantic comedy about a mismatched pair--a cynical reporter and a sheltered princess--who discover more about themselves and fall in love one fateful day in Rome. Roman Holiday is a cinematic classic, and made Audrey Hepburn a household name (for good reason). It is charming and accessible for all audiences.
The focus of Roman Holiday shifts from Ann's dilemma to Joe's after he realizes who has crashed at his studio apartment. From here, his bet with Hennessy becomes the main conflict, and Ann essentially starts getting treated like a valuable prize. In short, he manipulates events and colludes with Irving to document and capitalize on "a day in the life" with a princess. Perhaps it comes from a sense of entitlement owing to the frustrations she caused him the night before, but Joe starts shelling out lies with surprising ease about who he is and why he wants her to spend the day with him instead of letting her return to the embassy. In her absence, Ann's courtly advisors have fabricated a story that she has taken ill, and have hired a squad of conspicuous agents to track her down and drag her back home, if necessary. Despite the pretense, Joe takes Ann to places she wants to visit, including a sidewalk cafe and even for a ride on a Vespa to see Rome firsthand. Perhaps knowing that Ann wouldn't use the money Joe gave her on a cab, he trails her and witnesses her buying new (more practical) shoes for herself, and getting her hair cut into a far trendier and sportier do that no doubt inspired hundreds of viewers to copy it for themselves. As with her haircut, Ann herself transforms over the course of this day, gaining a breadth of experience that fills her with joy, even if it sometimes is accompanied by an encounter with the police. Yet Joe sees only dollar signs for so much of this stretch that it becomes difficult to empathize with him, knowing full well that he and Irving ultimately mean to embarrass her (and her country) by revealing the lie that she was not ill after publishing an account of her whereabouts and "unroyal" behavior publicly. It isn't until a brawl at a riverside dance where Joe and Ann begin to discover blossoming feelings for one another. From here, Joe begins to reconsider his mercenary values, and sees Ann as more than just a meal ticket. Now the conflict transforms from Joe getting the story to an ethical crisis--whether he should or should not publish the story, humiliating Ann or disappointing Irving and losing a serious bet; you can probably guess what he does. Furthermore, Roman Holiday avoids some cliches of the romantic comedy by refraining from Joe and Ann making declarations of love or promises to be with each other that they know very well that they can't keep. Instead, the remaining time they spend together is wistful and full of a sense of finality. They both have grown into better people by being with one another, and subsequently found what they needed, even if they didn't know that they did. For Ann, it was not just freedom but maturity and life experience; for Joe, it wasn't easy money, but compassion and tenderness. Roman Holiday offers that even when the relationships we forge end, we should emerge from them as better people.
Recommended for: Fans of a charming romantic comedy about a mismatched pair--a cynical reporter and a sheltered princess--who discover more about themselves and fall in love one fateful day in Rome. Roman Holiday is a cinematic classic, and made Audrey Hepburn a household name (for good reason). It is charming and accessible for all audiences.