Two for the Road
Posted by martinteller on August 29, 2009
I tried watching this several years ago, but I shut it off for some reason. If I recall correctly, I was put off by how mean-spirited it was. But I can’t imagine why, it really isn’t. It shows both the ups and downs of marriage, in a very clever multi-threaded flashback structure. Skipping freely over time from road trip to road trip allows Donen to draw parallels, establish patterns, point out coincidences and set up amusing juxtapositions. And he’s not afraid to undercut a sweet recapitualtion by immediately following it with another harsh confrontation. Finney and Hepburn are both terrific in their exchanges (including a particularly witty moment where the audio of their argument is mimicked in the visual of another couple arguing in a shop window). As a side note, I was giddy to see William Daniels in a minor role… his voice was instantly recognizable as Mr. Braddock from The Graduate. What I didn’t know was that Daniels was also the voice of K.I.T.T. on “Knight Rider”! I can’t believe I never made the connection before now. Rating: 8
