MovieChat Forums > Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) Discussion > For those who missed the point

For those who missed the point

posted 8 years ago by singjohn
14 replies | jump to latest

BAT has so much more going for it then just lovely Audrey in iconic outfits.

This is the story of a girl who is on a search for herself and unwittingly sells herself in the process. She meets a kindred soul in a boy who has pretty much done the same.

It isn't until they fall in love with one another that they realize how much of themselves they've given away, and how much they have left to give.

The story is told with humor and great style but they are only trappings of a very dark undercurrent.

Holly feels guilty for abandoning her husband and family but knows that if she returns to them she will lose even more of herself.

Paul wrote a popular book but is afraid he may have peaked early. He sells himself in an attempt to fund his art and reclaim his talent.

Look beyond the jazzy score, silly sight gags, flashy outfits, (and most importantly Mickey Rooney's horrendous Asian stereotype character) and look directly into the heart of the story: "No matter where you run, you'll never stop running into yourself".

[–] Kristinsmithinthehouse 7 years ago

Beautifully put. You get it. It's why this movie is one of my top faves.

[–] meowqueenx 7 years ago

I'll admit to having watched it a few times myself before really appreciating the full story beyond the superficial.
Well put.

[–] [email protected] (690) 6 years ago

I probably need to see it again. I love AudH ... and I mean I REALLY DO ... but BaT didn't do much for me. Peppard seemed weak, and I just didn't get it.

[–] RichardBlaine (303) 7 years ago

Well said. Just watched it (again) last night and came here and was disappointed by all the posters who apparently missed the film's theme. Nice to read this.

[–] MissMargoChanning (6630) 7 years ago

I'm here Richard. I agree. many didn't get the whole point of this movie.
There was also a hint of Holly's true character throughout the film.
At the party, Holly's agent is telling Paul about how Holly left Hollywood and ran away to New York.
he had asked her what she was doing in New York and she explained that she's never been to New York.
It was the same with Doc. While telling Paul about the night he proposed to Holly/Lula Mae, she'd said "Of course I'll marry you. I've never been married before!"
It may have sounded as though she was always willing to try new things, but truth be told, she kept running when things got to be too much for her.

"No matter where you run, you'll never stop running into yourself".
I also like reading that. I'm glad that she found her way home to herself.... at least in this movie.
We won't talk about the book.

[–] Gubbio (3893) 6 years ago

There was also a hint of Holly's true character throughout the film.
At the party, Holly's agent is telling Paul about how Holly left Hollywood and ran away to New York.
he had asked her what she was doing in New York and she explained that she's never been to New York.
It was the same with Doc. While telling Paul about the night he proposed to Holly/Lula Mae, she'd said "Of course I'll marry you. I've never been married before!"
It may have sounded as though she was always willing to try new things, but truth be told, she kept running when things got to be too much for her.

Holly was a complete psychotic, with few redeeming qualities -- other than being played by the charming Miss Hepurn.

I don't understand the accolades this film gets... Holly was annoying, living in her own world, practically manic-depressive.

And, I really HATED her throwing the cat out in the rain, in a manic fit. 🙀

And, Paul was only a little better. Very depressing people, dressed up in high glamour with a beautiful soundtrack by Mancini. 🎼 🎵 🎹 🎶

[–] rooprect (202) 6 years ago

Gubbio, that's sorta the point of the whole story. Holly was a bad person. Not necessarily "evil" but seriously flawed. Audrey Hepburn, and the whole production, deserve accolades because it drew us into the world of this nasty person but in a way that makes us sympathetic toward her instead of hating her. Not many stories can do that effectively (Streetcar Named Desire comes to mind).

I'll give you one thing though, I totally agree that her chucking the cat in the rain was disgusting and unforgivable--and in the book the cat is never seen again. I'm so glad they changed that for the movie ending and had the pivotal scene when they find the cat, otherwise I would've lost all sympathy for Holly. As the movie ends, at least we can believe that the rain scene was Holly's breakdown/transformation, after which she would start to turn her life around.

[–] Otter (24464) 6 years ago

It's one of those films that is so well-crafted and emotional that it sweeps you along as you watch it, but once you think about it afterwards, you realize that the central romance doesn't have much of a future.

Holly is too flaky and too much at the mercy of her internal emotional whirlwind to settle down, he'll forgive her a lot but not enough.

[–] rooprect (202) 6 years ago

I think you're spot on. The movie leaves us with a happily-ever-after feeling, but once you think about it, it's more like.... uhhh trainwreck waiting to happen.

[–] liscarkat (16552) 2 months ago

Exactly. Holly is a mental case. No matter how much Paul loves her, their marriage is going to end up a disaster.

[–] Gubbio (3893) 6 years ago

As the movie ends, at least we can believe that the rain scene was Holly's breakdown/transformation, after which she would start to turn her life around.

I saw the rain scene, not as a breakthrough, but as a calm before Holly's NEXT erratic storm. Very depressing people. The film left me with a bad feeling. And, I'm still pissed off about her treatment of the cat ! 😾

[–] BourbonKing (5618) 6 years ago

I think this movie appeals to so many because both characters are merely suffering from existential crises not life or death. They're nice trivial problems to have while living the jet set single person life style in boomtown NYC.

I never really got attached to either Holly or Paul's characters because I just didn't identify with their plight as you clearly described it.

I also didn't find Mickey Rooney's stereotype all that offensive since it was completely cartoonish. There have been plenty of other Asian characters reduced to second-class even non-human status as portrayed in various Western movies and TV shows thru the years but I never hear them being called out. I guess most of the griping comes from Weaboos.

[–] rnmboon (377) 2 years ago

Good analysis. I have to say that this film is often unfavourably compared to the book but as film on its own I think it works really well. It is one of my favourites.

[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

It's true, that's what the central romance in the story is about, but I don't know that that's why the film is still being discussed.

I think that people love it because of everyone who has any spark in them has considered starting a new life in a new place and forming a new identity - becoming a new and fabulous version of yourself. Holly is a character who's not only gone ahead with that new impulse when most people don't, she's taken it to such an extreme that she's become a completely different, self-invented, and completely glamorous person. Who isn't interested by that? Who hasn't wanted to become fabulous, or considered leading a completely different life, and wondered what would happen if reminders of one's discarded old life came knocking on your door?