Review of An Affair to Remember (1957) by Jon P — 27 Sep 2015
Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant exchange wits, looks and love in Leo McCarey's All-American romance.
The first half of the film, set aboard a cruise ship, gives us something seldom seen in modern cinema: a regal romcom not too heavy on the 'rom' and not too light on the 'com'. The film is carried entirely by great dialogue and sly momentum, as opposed to screwball silliness or teary-eyed sentiment. Golden moments include cheeky photographers, a prophetic Grandma and smart digs at gossip culture.
The second half of the film is a different beast entirely; a meandering waiting game of one too many songs and one too few accident explanations. It's as if McCarey was so fixated on nailing the (by no means) perfect ending, he forgot who his characters were and what originally made them interesting along the way. But blimey did he come up with some wild ideas for filler scenes. Go watch it one night, switch it off at the 1-hour mark, go to bed and dream of a better final act.
This review of An Affair to Remember (1957) was written by Jon P on 27 Sep 2015.
An Affair to Remember has generally received very positive reviews.
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