lasttimeisaw TWO FOR THE ROAD is an authentic road movie, with opening credits of miscellaneous traffic signs bode the marital turbulence of a couple, the architect Mark Wallace (Finney) and his wife Joanna (Hepburn), who has been married for twelve years, and through the haphazard narrative jump-cuts, as the title suggests, the film presents them in a continuously mobile fashion, mostly in flashbacks, whether they are hitchhiking, carpooling with another married couple (including a fast-forwarding sight-seeing in Chantilly), or later they can afford to travel on their own, their trips in the magnificent European land evokes an evident whiff of lyricism intermingled with their personal romances and crises. Directed by the legendary Stanley Donen, and enabled by Frederic Raphael's wickedly astringent script, with golden maxim like "Marriage is when a woman asks a man to take off his pajamas because she wants to send it to the laundry." or "I still want a child, I just don't want that child."; and more strikingly, Donen discards the traditional linear account, instead he disarrays the over-one-decade time-span with sharp editing to hop erratically onto their various en route encounters and happenings, the film essays a full spectrum appraisal of what could happen during a relationship, from the budding romance, the unrestrained passion, the blithe squabbling alters into the bitter snide, the fatigue of bringing up a child, the extramarital affairs and finally spilling the beans of their dissatisfactions with blatant betrayal. Donen does go out on a limb to test the patience of its audience in this connubial fable. While the narrative can be problematic to grasp at times, for first-time viewers sometimes can barely be aware of which period our two protagonists are in the story, the movie's composition is as frequently changed as Ms. Hepburn's wardrobe, all too dashing and hasty to comprehend. The weightier challenge now falls on the shoulders of the two leads, which thankfully turns out to be truly amazing, despite of their seven-year age difference (in a rare case the woman is older), the Hepburn-Finney (aka. the bitch vs. the bastard) pair generates a waft of tangy chemistry on screen. There are good times when they are young and free, succumb to involuntary infatuation which can be viscerally affecting; in the bad times, they quarrel, dis each other. Hepburn contrives to give off a presence of corporeal concreteness instead of her more goddess-like persona, she is tormented by her ingrained insecurity and although we can tell youth is slowly eluding from her countenance, she holds on well throughout the varying phases due to her immaculate flair and unblemished self- respect projected in Joanna. Finney's Mark is flippant, volatile, flirty, even verges on male chauvinism, reeks of gentleman-like snobbishness, but his inner child never grow up during all these years.A young and gorgeous Jacqueline Bisset has a five-minute role in it, (auspiciously heralds her reunion with Finney in John Huston's UNDER THE VOLCANO 1984, 5/10), but the most joyous one in its merger supporting cast is William Daniels' Howard, the husband of Mark's ex-lover, he is a rigorous efficiency expert, surely the best expedition companion one can ever find if fairness is all you care. TWO FOR THE ROAD makes good use of the irrevocable fluidity of road-trip as a metaphor of one's tumultuous marriage journey, and it also shows audience a different Audrey Hepburn under the same dignified decorum, another good reason that the film should not be obliterated from a younger age group.

rjfaust Over the years I've held an image of Audrey Hepburn as a truly superior artist and actress. I was offended at the juvenile behavior by the characters portrayed by Ms. Hepburn and Albert Finney. They both appear to suffer from ADD and be in need of ritalin.Or. if I may say so, their characters show what happens to people who enter adulthood without a moral compass and seem to be spiritually bankrupt. Ms Hepburn seems to have gravitated between two polls in her choices of roles: Either they're too serious ("The Nun's Story") or an increasingly annoying flit: ("Breakfast at Tiffany's; "Two for the Road"). Whatever the "story" is that this movie tells, it could be told just as effectively in half the time. As it is, the film drags on f o r e v e r. When it was over, I felt disappointed and disgusted--and angry for the absolute waste of two hours watching this paean to immaturity and stupidity. In an age of dumbing down of everything, Ms. Hepburn paves the way for the Paris Hiltons and Kardashians of this age. Yuck!

Psalm 52 I agree w/ The New York Times Bosley Crowther's review that this cinematic experience "doesn't tell us very much about marriage and life, other than the old romantic axiom that lovers are likelier to be happy when poor than when rich. It doesn't tell us a thing about this couple when they are not in France, or why he is such a stinker, or why she sticks with him." It's true, this film avoids any involvement of, or w/, faith in the matrimonial drama, much less mention of the Bible and marriage, and as a result the beautiful film falls just short of being excellent. The lead and supporting acting, directing, location selections, production design, soundtrack, and writing are commendable and make the film breeze by, but again, by removing faith from the absorbing drama of the downfall of the lead's marriage this results in a film that is as a Variety film critic describes an "attempt to visually analyze the bits and pieces that go into making a marriage, and then making it work, is successful" but not excellent.

beresfordjd A wonderful,wonderful movie. I saw it first when it was released and could never get enough of it. I try to see it whenever I get the chance. The script by Frederic Raphael is sublime and the direction superb. Donen makes a great job of this movie I love it and his" Charade" also starring AH. All the supporting actors are just that-they support the leads and give the movie the atmosphere it needs to succeed.A special mention for Eleanor Bron who has been sadly underused in film (maybe her choice). One would have expected a film like this to have dated badly but I do not find that-it seems fresh every time I see it. It is funny,touching, romantic and above all witty. A really apt look at a relationship/marriage through several years. It says so much about male/female relationships without hitting its audience over the head with a metaphorical hammer.