Loved this one. Really, very nice and ahead of its time in its feminism, and in a minor key, its depiction of race and homosexuality. The film has a strong cast, and with lots of great scenes that add layers to the story, each of its supporting characters is given a moment to shine. The script is intelligent and the cinematography in Notting Hill is beautiful. I really love the tone director Bryan Forbes set in this film and how he told the story, which also has an outstanding finish.
Leslie Caron plays a young woman who is unmarried and two months pregnant when she moves into a seedy apartment building. There she meets a set of people around her who seem quite annoying initially, including the landlady who angrily denies the room could have bugs (Avis Bunnage), the guy next door who can hear her through paper thin walls (Brock Peters), the guy downstairs who invites himself in to her room (Tom Bell), the old woman on the ground floor who eavesdrops on her phone call (Cicely Courtneidge), and a couple of prostitutes in the basement to boot (led by Pat Phoenix). Meanwhile the doctor she sees is condescending and asks all sorts of irrelevant personal questions while just assuming she's going to have an abortion.
Through all of these annoying interactions, she listens patiently and then quietly asserts herself. She's a young French woman in London alone, vulnerable, and in a difficult circumstance - but she's always in control of herself. Caron plays this part beautifully and with depth, and through her character the film confronts the double standard regarding sexuality, asserts a woman's right to choose, and shows that she can truly be independent and content without a man. She's a loving person, but doesn't need to be protected. Among many other great lines, I just love how she calmly says "In the end I decided my virginity was becoming rather cumbersome" when explaining the fling that led to her pregnancy.
Just as Caron is comfortable with who she is and forces others to deal with her in an unassuming way, so the rest of the characters do as well. The film defies the standard clichés we often see in the characterization of gay people, minorities, the elderly, and even prostitutes, and by contrast, the common theme here is unaffected dignity and acceptance of all of them. It also doesn't take the easy or simple path that so many others would take. Sex is frankly mentioned or lightly joked about in several contexts as just a fact of life. It's all very refreshing, and because the film makes some pretty radical points for 1962 without shouting, I think it's more powerful as a result. Highly recommended.
Leslie Caron plays a young woman who is unmarried and two months pregnant when she moves into a seedy apartment building. There she meets a set of people around her who seem quite annoying initially, including the landlady who angrily denies the room could have bugs (Avis Bunnage), the guy next door who can hear her through paper thin walls (Brock Peters), the guy downstairs who invites himself in to her room (Tom Bell), the old woman on the ground floor who eavesdrops on her phone call (Cicely Courtneidge), and a couple of prostitutes in the basement to boot (led by Pat Phoenix). Meanwhile the doctor she sees is condescending and asks all sorts of irrelevant personal questions while just assuming she's going to have an abortion.
Through all of these annoying interactions, she listens patiently and then quietly asserts herself. She's a young French woman in London alone, vulnerable, and in a difficult circumstance - but she's always in control of herself. Caron plays this part beautifully and with depth, and through her character the film confronts the double standard regarding sexuality, asserts a woman's right to choose, and shows that she can truly be independent and content without a man. She's a loving person, but doesn't need to be protected. Among many other great lines, I just love how she calmly says "In the end I decided my virginity was becoming rather cumbersome" when explaining the fling that led to her pregnancy.
Just as Caron is comfortable with who she is and forces others to deal with her in an unassuming way, so the rest of the characters do as well. The film defies the standard clichés we often see in the characterization of gay people, minorities, the elderly, and even prostitutes, and by contrast, the common theme here is unaffected dignity and acceptance of all of them. It also doesn't take the easy or simple path that so many others would take. Sex is frankly mentioned or lightly joked about in several contexts as just a fact of life. It's all very refreshing, and because the film makes some pretty radical points for 1962 without shouting, I think it's more powerful as a result. Highly recommended.