Rehmat Sakrani
The Arts in NYC
IDC 1001H
Breakfast at Tiffany’s Film Review
Released in 1961, the setting of Breakfast at Tiffany’s is in New York City during the Korean War Era. Although most characters are not affected by the actual war, we do see in the movie that Holly’s brother Fred is in the war and eventually loses his life as a soldier. The movie’s setting in New York City is the perfect location to show the idea of neighbors and identity. Unlike the novella that the movie is adapted from, the characters are portrayed and shown according to the dominant gender stereotypes of that time period. The shift from the novella to the actual screen has many changes like turning it into a Hollywood love story with dynamic double standards, compared to the challenging of provocative sexual difference in the novel. The character of Paul Varjak is shown as a heterosexual male in the movie who falls in love with Audrey Hepburn’s character Holly, yet in the novel Varjak’s character was a homosexual friend. George Axelrod, the screenwriter changed many themes in the film such as this because of the times and what people wanted to see in Hollywood films. Evidently Axelrod did a good job because the film became a much more known phenomenon than the novella itself, written by Truman Capote.
The setting of New York City is crucial to the movie. In a scene between Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) and Paul Varjak (George Peppard), Holly mentions how she loves New York City and will one day bring her children there so they can see all that the city has to offer. It is Paul’s character who reminds her that she should stay in New York instead of moving to Brazil. Another crucial part of the setting is the actual brownstone apartment building. This building becomes a place where we see the relationship of Holly and Paul unfold as well as the identities of many characters unfold. Holly’s lack of furniture in her apartment portrays how she is always in a temporary phase and never really ready to settle until the end of the film. We also see that the building and apartments themselves become a scenery for both happy and sad moments. The first kiss that Holly and Paul share is in Holly’s apartment and then when Holly reads the telegram of her brother Fred’s death, she wrecks her bedroom furniture in the same apartment.
A fun fact that some may know, is that Breakfast at Tiffany’s became Audrey Hepburn’s most recognizable role. Not only did she fit the class and tact of a character like Holly, but she also was a perfect fit for the loose, free-spirited moral character of Holly Golightly, who was not tied down by a man. Hepburn’s work was even nominated an Academy Award for Best Actress and inspired many fashion trends, even up until today. The opening scene of Hepburn in a black dress with pearls outside Tiffany’s is one of the most iconic stills from the movie as it inspired the “little black dress” for vogue and gave a simple yet elegant look to Hepburn’s character. Her looks and costumes for the film were made by legendary designers Edith Head and Givenchy, making Hepburn a stylistic icon as well as a legendary star performer.
Besides looking at the significance of the setting, time period, and the historical cast, the plot of Breakfast at Tiffany’s itself is quite legendary Hollywood in its own way. Holly Golightly is a New York City party girl who does not like to get attached to men but rather wants to marry them for their money and status. As the new guy Paul Varjak moves into her building, who is a struggling writer, an unlikely friendship forms. Paul notices a surface behind Holly that many men seem to ignore. To Holly, all the men that she has dealt with have been rats or “super-rats” and as she tries to put that label on George Peppard’s character, by the end she realizes that he is the only man who truly loves her. He may not have been rich, but he saw Holly’s love for Tiffany’s and despite being kept by an older woman, he made sure that he got her something to express his love for this gorgeous woman, Holly.
A central theme that we see circulating in Holly’s life is the idea of identity. As Holly’s ex-husband Doc came into the picture, we learned of Holly’s past. Her name in the past aka identity was named Lulamae. She was a young girl who got married at 14 and then annulled her marriage with Doc ages before we see Holly present in the movie. The reason this is important is because Holly says to Doc that she is no longer that Lulamae, that same girl. Her personality and identity has changed as she has grown up and become independent. However, at the end, Holly is not even sure who Holly is. One of the famous quotes in the movie said by Holly shows her self-identification, “I’m not Holly. I’m not Lulamae either. I don’t know who I am. I’m like Cat here. We’re a couple of no name slobs. We belong to nobody, and nobody belongs to us. We don’t even belong to each other.” As she says this to Varjak, the audience realizes that Cat symbolizes Holly and her “no name” identity that she feels lost in. However, Varjak’s view is different.
The reason that Varjak is able to fall in love with Holly is because of his different view. He sees the side of Holly that sings “Moon River” (song that first became a hit because of this film) on the windowsill. He sees the Holly that is lonely and needs a companion. He willingly breaks up with the old woman who keeps him because he is that in love with Holly. And when Holly rejects him for Jose da Silva Periera, her Brazilian “lover”, he still does not give up on her. It is Paul’s character who believes that everyone belongs to someone. To Varjak, the only chance someone has of being happy is to fall in love. I guess what they say about “opposites attract” can be true and is certainly proven by these two main characters in the film.
Works Cited
“Breakfast at Tiffany’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s on Film.” GradeSaver. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.
@leonoraepstein. “12 Things You Didn’t Know About “Breakfast At Tiffany’s”” BuzzFeed. BuzzFeed, n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.
Passafiume, Andrea, Jeff Stafford, and Mel Neuhaus. “Turner Classic Movies – TCM.com.” Turner Classic Movies. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.
