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Rating: A pinch of suspense, a bit of glamour, a few drops of comedy, and two fabulous actors. This is the right recipe to turn a simple story into a delightful film that, in its own way, captures the free and light spirit of the '60s.
William Wyler returns in 1966 to direct his protégé Audrey Hepburn after the dramatic "The Children's Hour" (1961), and he does so by highlighting the actress's most ironic and spontaneous sides once again, whom he launched in "Roman Holiday." The plot is curious; the daughter of a well-known art collector (actually a skilled forger) must recover, by stealing, the precious statue attributed to Cellini before the Parisian museum to which it was loaned discovers the sculpture's fraudulence and consequently unmasks her father (Hugh Griffith). To accomplish her arduous criminal task, she hires the thief Simon Dermott (Peter O'Toole), whom she found "by chance" in her house one night rummaging through her father's paintings and was dramatically injured with an old gun.
What I find most fascinating about this film is its complete spontaneity, the plot is not complex but Wyler manages to best showcase the comedic flair of the two actors by naturally constructing ironic scenes, there is no exaggeration in the situations that arise; an example is the long closet sequence, in which the two hide in the museum to carry out their brilliant criminal plan. These scenes are very sensual, the promiscuity, the sharing of a small space for a long time, which the director highlights by creating the right play of lights and providing the correct pacing for the action and dialogues, "Comfortable?...um...I didn't think there would be all this promiscuity..." This might be the film that most highlights Hepburn's lighter comedic side; Nicole has no hidden aspects of personality or strong inner contrasts, she is simply a somewhat dreamy and naive figure who immediately enchants the viewer. So, the character of Simon, more rational and serious, manages to counterbalance Nicole and create the perfect couple, famous for Simon's line to Nicole before she dons the attire of a cleaning lady for the final act of the theft, "Give Givenchy the night off."
Within the scope of the roles played by Audrey, Nicole Bonnet's role is not one of the most complex; in fact, it is the simplest, but nonetheless, it finds its rightful place among the three great characters she offers us towards the late '60s, Eliza in "My Fair Lady," Joanna in Stanley Donen's beautiful road comedy "Two For The Road," and Suzy in "Wait Until Dark." Her ability to alternate between dramatic roles and lighter interpretations is the great strength of her film career, a career built with great effort and dedication; a life lived simply, devoted only in part to cinema and much to love, first towards her children and then to UNICEF, so don't be surprised if her presence is always among us and will never leave.
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