Movies from the Heart—Summertime

As we look at romance films, love stories, romantic comedies, you’ll notice that all the films I discussed in January starred either Katharine Hepburn or Audrey Hepburn. And as I look at the films I’d like to talk about for February and March, the trend continues—they all star either Katharine Hepburn or Audrey Hepburn.

One thing I’ve discovered as a writer is that a certain star can drive a film—it can get made because a particular star wants to do it. During the 50s, Katharine Hepburn’s romantic films were about middle-aged women and Audrey’s were about younger women. This was Audrey Hepburn’s heyday, and everything she touched turned to gold. And Katharine was an enduring star as well.

But as a writer, you can’t really hope that the biggest star out there will love your work. You have to write a script that many stars might want to do… not an easy task.

This week’s Summertime [1955] by Arthur Laurents, H. E. Bates and David Lean, tells the story of a middle-aged single woman who goes to Venice and finds love. She is clearly not a woman who has had a string of lovers, and this is all new to her. But complications ensue when she discovers that her lover is married.

A lucky break—YouTube is now letting you watch the entire film for free. Yes, it’s a bit dated but it’s a great romance, the story of a tentative woman who’s swept away into a heady romance that’s different from what she might have dreamed a love affair would be, but which is life-changing for her. If you have time, take a look—the film also has the side benefit of making you feel like you’ve taken a trip to Venice!! Here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtimKKXcTlw

But if you don’t have time for the film, take a look at the trailer to get a feel for the film.

As you watch this film, you may notice that it was adapted from a play. And as is too often the case with films adapted from plays, the dialogue, the situations, occasionally seem stiff or even forced. Part of it is because the stage is, inherently, a bit of a more formal medium. Film is, inherently, a more casual medium—where grammatical formality is almost out of place.

If you’ve ever thought of adapting a play into a film, you need to keep that in mind. And you need to make sure that the formality of the play, the entering and exiting of characters, for example, is done much more smoothly in your script than it was for the stage—it really does make a difference.

One of the things I like about this film is that it doesn’t have the traditional “happy” ending. It has more of a bittersweet ending. And I think that’s one of the things that makes it stay with you longer.

Next week a film with a happy ending—the classic Funny Face.

Copyright © Diane Lake

04Feb24

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