I should start off by letting you all know that I am directionally incapable, which is really sad coming from someone living in New York. With that said, until I asked my parents what part of New York City “Uptown” actually was, the term really didn’t mean much to me. Sure, I had some knowledge that it was the wealthier part of the city; but in my mind, all I really had to work with was Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl” and Boaz Yakin’s film, Uptown Girls. Still, the image that first pops into my head is that of wealthy women who marry equally wealthy men wearing the latest fashion trends (even if they aren’t going anywhere), having brunch or shopping with their other wealthy friends while the children are at home with the nanny. I always envision these people to have carefree lives without actual jobs to get to, but yet, money is constantly being deposited into their bank accounts for no real reason. And these uptown people seem to live a life that is so unattainable for the rest of us, automatically allowing us to decide that they are snobby and superficial. Even the name sounds snobby. Uptown. It makes you think that Uptown is so much better than everywhere else, let’s not even mention Downtown.
Blake Edwards’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s basically reinforced what I already assumed about life in Uptown New York City. I would like to begin by stating that I really did not like this film, but that might partly be because the movie was recorded at such a low volume that I struggled to actually hear the dialogue. I also felt like the plot was really lacking and I did not really like Audrey Hepburn’s character, but, man, did she look good doing it! I just need to take a moment to appreciate how good she looked the whole time, especially in the first scene; if that is what she wears to window shop while eating breakfast, I would love to see what she throws on for dinner! I found myself obsessed with her hair swirl, too. Just a big “thank you” to whoever set up her costumes and styling. My appreciation for Audrey Hepburn’s general elegance aside, Holly’s styling was really representative of how I envisioned women living Uptown. She put on a gorgeous gown and a fabulous necklace just to get in a cab and stare into the window of a store, while the rest of us basically choose an outfit that can go from day to evening if necessary.
Holly Golightly’s behavior was especially representative of my mental image of Uptown. For instance, the Manhattan socialite gets paid $100 every week just to visit a mobster. If I didn’t already think that these Uptown women probably never worked a day in their lives but still get money thrown at them, there is my proof. Also, Holly keeps trying to marry extremely wealthy men, going so far as to request a list of the richest men in Brazil, despite her multiple failures, just to maintain her lifestyle. Her behavior perpetuates my mindset that these Uptown people believe themselves to be so above everyone else that high society can only marry other high society. To continue on the path of the Uptown societal superiority, Holly and Paul are shown stealing from a 10-15 cent store (which I guess is the equivalent of a dollar store nowadays) without giving it a second thought. These wealthy people are so self-engaged and used to their wealthy lives that they don’t even think about how stealing something, regardless of how small, can affect others, similarly to how Holly takes the fifty dollars from Sid and deserts him without caring. Even though Hepburn’s character had quite a long list of sucky characteristics, she did have some redeeming qualities, like how she was saving money to take care of her brother once he returned from the army, for instance.
The ending of Breakfast at Tiffany’s strayed from my idea of Uptown life. The guy gets the girl and suddenly Holly realized that money cannot buy happiness, only love can do that, guy and girl kiss in the rain while seemingly crushing a moist, nameless cat, the end. But that is probably part of the Hollywood “happy ending,” which is mostly unrealistic.
