User Reviews

I gotta come clean: I think TWO FOR THE ROAD is overrated. This is a movie I wish I liked but cannot stand. About the only interesting thing in it is the nonlinear story structure. The way they segue through time using the loosest connections was very interesting and I would love to see it used in a movie with a better story.

The thing is, I do not care about any of these characters. Neither Finney nor Hepburn's characters are terribly interesting on their own, and while they share sexual chemistry onscreen (and apparently did off as well), I do not buy for a second that the two ever really love one another or that there is anything in their relationship worth salvaging. Not in the least. And as a result, I don't care if they stay together or split up. They seem like two people who banged on a beach then got married on impulse-- and remain that way! I never sensed a deeper connection between them other than "we make each other laugh every now and then when we aren't cheating on one another!"

Much has been made of Hepburn's performance, and much wailing and gnashing of teeth have there been over her getting a nomination for the horror-thriller WAIT UNTIL DARK instead. My own indifference to award shows aside, give me Hepburn in WAIT UNTIL DARK over this any day. Even without her expert portrayal of blindness, there she played a far more compelling character trying to overcome her own psychological insecurities in addition to mortal peril.

Here, while she shows talent in playing a sometimes unlikable character (this performance in its brittle moments shows what route she might have taken had she taken up the offer to play Nurse Ratched in ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST), the character is so uninteresting and wishy-washy that I'm left absolutely unaffected. I don't care if she's playing a woman over ten years of her life and I don't care if it's different from the classy gamines she normally played-- when I don't care about the character, the best performance in the world is all for nothing.

So if we don't have interesting characters or a believable, compelling relationship between them, what do we have? A movie peopled by obnoxious characters that drags on far longer than its two hour runtime, with only pretty scenery, a solid Mancini score, and cool 1960s fashions to recommend it.

EDIT: Rewatched this recently in the hopes of liking it more. I ended up liking it less. I'm now convinced Mark Wallace is a narcissist and that the "happy" ending is more a case of putting the inevitable divorce off for another ten years rather than any triumph of devoted love.

Under the glossy sheen of what was sold as a romantic comedy, Stanley Donen's incomparable film, "Two for the Road," is at heart the dissection of a relationship between two people over a decade of their life together. During the course of the film, Mark and Joanna Wallace mature from two carefree young individuals into a union of two people, which is stronger than the sum of its parts. Frederic Raphael's Oscar-nominated screenplay relates the story of this couple through a series of car trips across France. The trips vary as the years pass, and most are taken together, although one is with another couple, and one is with their young daughter. As the couple's affluence grows, the cars become more expensive, the clothes more stylish, and the two partners more distant. Early in their lives, Mark and Joanna note a man and woman sitting in a restaurant without looking or speaking to each other. Joanna asks: "What kind of people sit in a restaurant and don't talk to each other." Mark replies: "Married people." After a decade together, Mark and Joanna sit in a restaurant together without speaking. While lacking the cynicism of Stephen's Sondheim's views on marriage, Raphael makes his point.

If the film had been told in a straightforward time line, the results would have been ordinary at best. However, Raphael has fractured time, and the stories unravel in bits and pieces that are inter cut to compare and contrast Mark and Joanna and their relationship as it grows and reacts to life. Some of the cuts are amusing such as a scene when the couple is hitchhiking and a car passes them without stopping. Mark says: "I'll never pass a hitchhiker without stopping." The film jumps to Mark who, during a subsequent trip, passes a hitchhiking couple without even a glance at them. The cuts are not flashbacks, however, because the characters are not remembering the past. As the director, Stanley Donen, put it, every scene is the present, which makes the film a revolving prism that reflects various facets of the union of these two people at different points in their lives. Perhaps this unique structure is what has made the film so appealing to so many viewers. Everyone sees the film from his or her own experiences and stage of life. As the viewer matures and changes, so does his or her relationship to the film and its characters.

With a sophisticated script to work from, the actors were at the top of their form. Arguably, Audrey Hepburn has never been better and displayed a range unrivaled in her other films as she matures from a young collegiate on tour to a sophisticated, but bored, wife of a successful architect. Albert Finney was never more attractive, and his chemistry with Hepburn is essential to the film's success. An American couple, played to perfection by Eleanor Bron and William Daniels, and their daughter, Ruthie, who travel with the Mark and Joanna on one trip, are the film's comedy relief. The anal husband, snobbish wife, and insufferable child comprise a family that Joanna desperately does not want to become or to share an automobile with.

Beautiful wide-screen cinematography of the French countryside by Christopher Challis and one of Henry Mancini's finest scores only enhance this masterwork further. The collaboration of Henry Mancini, Stanley Donen, and Audrey Hepburn, which worked so well on "Charade," reached a peak with "Two for the Road." Like other films that used fractured time, such as "Citizen Kane" and "Memento," "Two for the Road" does not pale under repeated viewings, because the structure makes it difficult to anticipate the order of sequences and the film always seems fresh. Only the screenplay's over-reliance on phrase repetition in the dialog exchanges and the ongoing gag about misplaced passports wear thin. But, despite any minor quibbles, this viewer is always willing to take another trip across France with Mark and Joanna. When the film draws to a conclusion and the couple cross a border both literally and figuratively, their final exchange is: "Bitch," "Bastard." To which all I can add is: Brilliant.

This is a difficult film to review because there was quite a bit to like about the film but the overall experience wasn't especially enjoyable or satisfying. On the plus side, this film sports some of the best location filming of the 1960s. The French countryside and beaches are simply beautiful and this experience is strongly heightened by Henry Mancini's delightful score. According to IMDb, Mancini liked this best of all his many famous scores and I would agree that it is superb--even better than many of his more famous films (such as HATARI!, CHARADE and THE PINK PANTHER). That's because although no one song stands out in your head like it does in these other movies, the overall score is just perfect for the film from start to finish.

As for the film, there is a lot to like as well, but for me the hip and then modern aspects of the couple's love life disappointed me. Sure, in some ways perhaps this was more realistic than a "happily ever after" type film, but the gritty realism and sadness of the film really turned me off. I guess I really am a sentimental guy down deep.

The movie is about the love life and marriage of Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney. It shows how their love evolved and grew cold over the years through a long series of flashbacks to each time they went to the French countryside for vacation. At first they are madly in love and later they grow very distant and even have affairs. Seeing Hepburn sleeping with Finney after just meeting was certainly in line with 60s sensibilities as were their affairs, but I just didn't like it. Much of this is because of Hepburn's rather 'virginal' persona in films. In addition, while Finney's persona is far less virginal by 1967 (having starred in films such as Saturday NIGHT AND Sunday MORNING and TOM JONES), his character came off too often as cruel and easy to hate. Frankly, I could easily see why Hepburn's character would cheat on him, though for the life of me I couldn't see why she stayed. By the end of the film it seemed as if the two stayed together more out of habit than anything else--making the whole thing seem like a bit of a downer. If you are looking for a romance, look a bit further as this seemed more like THE WAR OF THE ROSES than anything romantic.

A final note, if you are into Freudian imagery or psychology, then this is an interesting film. Director Donen deliberately used a lot of phallic references. One was not at all subtle and the characters even commented on this (as the train whizzed past). Another, a bit more subtle, involved Finney offering Hepburn a banana. Additionally, the family who traveled with them during one part of the movie kept spouting psychobabble right and left and it was funny to see what totally permissive parenting results in with their child.

1967 was a clearly Audrey Hepburn's final peak as a leading lady. With "Wait Until Dark," and 'Two for the Road," finished, she would quietly divorce Mel Ferrer and sit out her final productive years as a movie star, eventually marrying Andrea Dotti, having another child and semi-retire to her Roman apartment to raise her sons. Eight more years would pass until she finally agreed to do 'Robin and Marian." Well Audrey Hepburn is my all-time favorite movie star. This ethereal beauty with the dark expressive eyes, elegant clotheshorse figure, and unforgettable voice rarely made a mistake in her career. Here's another example of her infallible ability to find the right script. If only Julia Roberts had paid closer attention.

If you're going to draw your career to a close, and I'm not sure she realized this was it, no actress could do better than 'Two for the Road,' and 'Wait Until Dark." Audrey was such a natural screen presence, and with 'Two for the Road,' she had a wonderfully

handsome leading man in Albert Finney (there were strong rumors of a relationship during this film), and completely at ease with a director she had successfully worked with in the past--Stanley Donen.

Frederik Raphael's edgy comedy-drama about a young and successful couple's courtship and marriage was completely in step with the time, and when I re-watched it recently, I was totally drawn into their world. The young and carefree early years had the breezy romance and charm of Hepburn's early romantic comedies. As the story criss-crosses throughout the various years, you can see Finney withdrawing as he doggedly pursues his architecture career. You can see Hepburn's disappointment as she loses her husband to his work and most devastatingly to other women. She is finds the right reaction when he discovers she has finally taken on a lover of her own, and just when it looks like he's ready to forgive her, Finney's character lashes out viciously. Hepburn's look of utter horror at his cruelty is amazing. There's no violence here except emotional devastation and both actors deliver detailed and moving performances.

I like the fact that they seem to stay together, the humor of their early years often in evidence (he's always losing things, and when she finds them, he calls her "bitch" and she replies, "b**tard"). I also like the fact that the script doesn't demonize Finney's character, or the lack of it. Marriage is a two-way street here.

I'm a bit confused as to some of the criticism I read here of this movie. TWO FOR THE ROAD is an adult movie about adult relationships and stars two of the most appealing film stars of their era. It is well directed, and I was never confused about what is going on in any scene. Eleanor Braun and William Daniel's are outstanding as the perfectly awful couple you'd never want to be stuck with in a car trip, especially when their odious little girl comes along ! This, I believe, was Jacqueline Bissett's first film, and you can tell right away, she's got star quality. But this is Audrey and Albert's show all the way.

It's been said that this "isn't" a love story.

Well, that can be true....if you look at love through eyes of someone very young. People in love (and I mean really in love) who want to be together "forever", have to do a lot more than hold hands, kiss and "play" together.

This movie demonstrates that beautifully, starting the story at when they've been together 10 years or so and shifting back and forth. A little confusing if you've never seen the movie but it's easy to adapt too.

Joanna and Mark meet on the road, he's traveling alone getting rides where he can and she's with a touring choir, (I'm guessing in 1957) when she's 18 and maybe he a bit older).

Mark's been in one relationship and it went bad, so he's adapted an unnecessary defense plan. He'll have a simple frolic with a woman for awhile but that's about it.

He had no plans to get serious again but along comes Joanna, whom he casually resists at first but later he, like she finds himself in love. That time represents young idealistic love.

The middle is when they decide to get married, "but no kids". Which almost always goes out the window later. Representing, maturing and adapting and give & take. Mark still tries to hold on to his younger thought process.

Back to the present where they're seriously on the verge of a break up. Mark's being unfaithful and has become a successful but self centered bore and is cheating.

He also regrets having a kid. She's at her wits end with him by then and then she cheats too and almost leaves him. (Without giving it away, there "is" a happy ending here).

Not all relationships are this difficult but "Two For The Road" makes great use of how a young man thinks he always wants to be free, in charge and that he ... and only he matters.

It also does, for the most part, demonstrate how the female has to deal with such egotism, without making her the good one and he the bad one. They both have faults.

It's certainly another era but the story and situations could happen today and even to the best of us. I recommend it to anyone over 25 who has been there.

I'd also though, go as far as to recommend it for educational purposes, to show younger people that love isn't a valentine's greeting card. At my age I can honestly say, I used to think that way too.

Like the film states near the end, (to paraphrase) there comes a time when certain things are left behind in maturity.

9 Stars , a little bumpy here and there but worth the journey. (END)