“Never love a wild thing…If you let yourself love a wild thing. You’ll end up looking at the sky.”
It’s an iconic line spoken by Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golighty in the classic 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s. This was only one of many of Holly’s outlandish life lessons. She may have been the only person to find it useless to buy furniture or name her cat until she found true happiness.
As the film develops you begin to build an emotional connection with Ms. Golighty as well as with Paul Varjak, better known as Fred. As with other classic films I’ve watched, there are only two or three primary characters. This allows the viewer to become involved and really grasp the characters’ personalities and values. With Holly you were able to see her fear and vulnerability that lay underneath a confident and light-hearted facade. You learn there is more to the girl than just the cocktail party.
You also can really empathize with Paul and his feelings for Holly. He gladly puts his true feelings for her on the back burner as she attempts to marry several very wealthy and powerful men. Because there are so few characters crowding the screen, you can still see how much it is hurting Paul to watch her almost go through with leaving. Not to give anything away, but in the end true love prevails. A superficial love like Holly kept looking for will never last.
Of course there are the obvious differences between classic films and movies we see today like the quality of the picture and sound, raciness of the plot, and complexity of the special effects. However, many people do not think about the acting itself. Although the quality of film was not at its peak in the 1960s, you could really see the raw talent of the actors and actresses.
There were not layers of special effects to take away from their talent. In Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Audrey Hepburn plays an over the top, whimsical woman who has a few breakdowns in the midst of her crazy life. Even in those moments she still treated the situation in a very dramatic way. When Holly received notice of her brother’s death she went from an extreme high to an extreme low in a matter of seconds, destroying her apartment.
Now, I have never acted in anything other than an elementary school play and as important as a flower is in a fifth grade production it is no where close to acting in a film. I can not imagine how hard it is to portray that type of character. As Holly has, what I would call, breakdowns there were only one or two characters in the room with her. This allows the director to focus on her. By doing that it lets the viewer put all of his or her attention on Holly and have real insight into what’s really going on in her life at that particular moment.
In movies today, actors and actresses have to portray the same types of characters as well, but typically there are several other characters that distract you from the situation whether you realize it or not. Not only that, but in the middle of the breakdown there may be a scene change, usually a flashback to show you why the character is acting in a dramatic way. This is beneficial so you know why the character is acting in that way but it also distracts you from what is currently happening with the main character.
Classic movies and current movies are very different in technical aspects and ways the films are directed and produced. Many would also argue that the older actors and actresses in classic movies have more talent. I do not believe that is necessarily the case. Actors of today just have a different way of doing their job. I do believe however; you have a chance to become more emotionally involved with the characters in classic movies. I would not say current actors and actresses have less talent or acting abilities, they just have to use their talents in different ways.
