Histoire d'amour

It was very difficult to decide how to rate this movie. I'd not seen the Cary Grant / Deborah Kerr version (except for the little snippets that appear in "Sleepless in Seattle"), so my opinion was not colored by the inevitable comparisons... It's just that the first half of the movie struck me as being incredibly *bad* : it was poorly written in particular. Once Katherine Hepburn appeared on the scene, the film began to improve quite noticeably, and the last half was considerably better, with superb performances, especially from the two principals. I've never been a big Warren Beatty fan, but Annette Bening is WONDERFUL! (I think I've fallen in love!!!) -- To sum up, the first half of the movie rates a 3 in my book, the second half an 8 -- hence my overall grade of 5.

Without her this movie would be maybe something to watch on a rainy Saturday afternoon when there's not much on cable. But K Hepburn takes this film from "ok" to "something worth spending spending time watching." Even at her age the strength of her character and acting ability brought the few sparks there were into this film. But I've always considered Warren & Annette a perfect match...bland...bland...and more bland. Do they have a personality?? I truly don't understand how they got to where they are today, but I could say the very same thing about some of our re-electeds. If you want to watch a much better version of the story with an entirely different sphere of acting check out the 1957 version "An Affair to Remember" with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. Some scenes are a little outdated, but the acting and chemistry between these two make it timeless. They've made their characters seem so real, they almost jump out of the screen. Then it all comes to a head in this heartbreakingly emotional ending, a story of selfless love, I cry every time. Annette & Warren simply don't have the acting ability or charisma to give these characters that certain kind of trueness in which you would feel any great emotional investment. They strike me as very into themselves sort of selfish people anyway, could they truly characterize selflessness?

Why did Beatty and Bening decide to do a remake of one of the most romantic films of all time? They should have left it alone. There is little chemistry between them (despite the fact they are married in real life). No dramatic tension, no nothing. Katherine Hepburn, in a brief appearance, is the only bright spark in the whole thing.

If anyone thinks that we've seen the last remake of Love Affair, think again. The Indian cinema has done a version of it a few years after this film came out. This story has a timeless appeal that Warren Beatty certainly recognized.

Anyone who has seen the original Love Affair and the remake An Affair To Remember will know the plot of this film exactly. Warren Beatty and Annette Bening fill the shoes of previous lovers Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne and Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. With very few deviations except those to update the story this film has the same plot.

One of those deviations has our star crossed lovers Warren Beatty and Annette Bening meeting on a transoceanic flight to Sydney, Australia which is certainly a lot of time to get acquainted. They get even better acquainted when they are forced to land on a Pacific island where Beatty's grandmother Katharine Hepburn has a nice tropical place. The kind of setting where romance has to bloom.

This was Katharine Hepburn's last big screen appearance, she did one more television film and then her Parkinson's Disease and other ailments that beset people of the age she lived to forced her retirement. I'll bet she never thought she would in 1939 wind up in a remake of a film doing a part Maria Ouspenskaya created. She does it grand style though and only Kate can make an old Anglo-Saxon expletive sound elegant.

That Warren Beatty got nominated for a Razzie award for remaking Love Affair is a disgrace. This is old fashioned romantic entertainment, the kind that old Hollywood used to do. I think Beatty and everyone connected with this Love Affair should be proud.

I notice that Leo McCarey who wrote and directed Love Affair and An Affair To Remember is prominently listed on the screen credits. He'd be proud of this remake himself, I'm sure.

The movie started as a usual affair movie. Yet it went along straight in the middle and peaking up after it.

One thing to be noted is the affection made by the music. It dominate the movie and swing our mood back and forth. And the tune Katherine Hepburn 'played' on piano really works well, with an additional song 'I Will' from the Beatles which turns out to be the movie secondary theme.

The original movie has been remade before this, and many other movie uses the original 'Love Affair' as an additional magnet to it. It isn't too hard to guess where the storyline went.

But the ending still caught us in deep emotion. We strongly feel love in it.

Recommended for Saturday evening movie with your spouse alone.