I know this is going to be an unpopular opinion, as I can't see it stated anywhere else; I just have to write it down and see if anybody at all agrees with me. It's very unwise for a Hollywood production to have the stars they've cast shoulder all of the burden of trying to make the script seem convincing.
I don't think the screenplay did a very good job at all of explaining just why these two men were so attracted to Sabrina (save for the fact that she happens to be played by one Audrey Hepburn... ) The character of the chauffeur's daughter behaves in the manner of an entitled brat - just because she can't have the man she wants, she writes a bitter little suicide note until she's shuffled off to Paris.
Upon her return, only her appearance has changed; her character still remains somewhat aloof, but she's discovered how to utilise her looks to twist men around her little finger. This has the effect of making the two vying suitors we're shown seem shallow. This is a perception that is only confirmed when one of them attempts to woo her using the same seduction techniques he's already tried out on dozens of other girls (yet Sabrina seems amused by this, rather than dissuaded!) Meanwhile, the older brother takes advantage by trying to kiss her under the pretence that he's acting in his missing sibling's stead (as if that type of advance would really go over smoothly... ?!)
Throughout the entirety of the film it felt like we were meant to harbour affection for these characters just by virtue of who was playing them; Sabrina/Audrey because of her elfin beauty and gauche naiveté, Linus/Bogart because the payoff is a reversal of what happens in Casablanca and he gets to be with the girl for once. I didn't buy their motivations as anything recognisably human, and therefore didn't derive much satisfaction from the resolution of the story...
I think that established persona's and star wattage should only be relied upon to achieve so much. The underlying construction of what they were given to work with just didn't seem solid enough to me. The one benefit to casting icons is that there are very few 'boring' scenes, there are just quite a few scenes that don't appear to make much narrative sense.
I don't think the screenplay did a very good job at all of explaining just why these two men were so attracted to Sabrina (save for the fact that she happens to be played by one Audrey Hepburn... ) The character of the chauffeur's daughter behaves in the manner of an entitled brat - just because she can't have the man she wants, she writes a bitter little suicide note until she's shuffled off to Paris.
Upon her return, only her appearance has changed; her character still remains somewhat aloof, but she's discovered how to utilise her looks to twist men around her little finger. This has the effect of making the two vying suitors we're shown seem shallow. This is a perception that is only confirmed when one of them attempts to woo her using the same seduction techniques he's already tried out on dozens of other girls (yet Sabrina seems amused by this, rather than dissuaded!) Meanwhile, the older brother takes advantage by trying to kiss her under the pretence that he's acting in his missing sibling's stead (as if that type of advance would really go over smoothly... ?!)
Throughout the entirety of the film it felt like we were meant to harbour affection for these characters just by virtue of who was playing them; Sabrina/Audrey because of her elfin beauty and gauche naiveté, Linus/Bogart because the payoff is a reversal of what happens in Casablanca and he gets to be with the girl for once. I didn't buy their motivations as anything recognisably human, and therefore didn't derive much satisfaction from the resolution of the story...
I think that established persona's and star wattage should only be relied upon to achieve so much. The underlying construction of what they were given to work with just didn't seem solid enough to me. The one benefit to casting icons is that there are very few 'boring' scenes, there are just quite a few scenes that don't appear to make much narrative sense.