Review of BUtterfield 8 (1960) by Veronique K — 24 Feb 2008

Could anyone associate the story of "butterfield 8" with audrery hepburn romantic tear-jerker "breakfast at tiffany's"? as a matter of fact, they're literarily on the issue of the purgation for the "women of libertine" which means T. R. A. M. P. you might be marvelled at the similiarity these two tales have. personally I assume "breakfast at tiffany's" would be another "butterfield 8" without audrery hepburn (but marilyn manroe instead) and its revised ending which differentiates from original novella.

It is highly suspicious that elizabeth taylor gained academy award for it just becuz she looks damned ravishing in the first scene of her in half-naked gown, you tremebles as she moans "legget" on the bed, the excert of her ultimate sex appeal, then the "respitefully elegant" mink coat is also another attention-grappler. how could any judge refuse to vote for her unless he suffers from som private grudge of importency.(pardon me).

The story is about gloria, an alleged high-class call-girl who juggles between men of wealth for a living. one incidental one-night-stand with the abrasive tycoon weston legget (laurence harvey) who lives under his wife's fortune, then he infuriates her by actually leaving money to pay off her "service"....rageous gloria struts out of his 5th avenue apartment with an extravagent minkcoat....after the wrestling of animosity, legget and gloria make love in their cozy shabby motel which is a symbol of their common beastly vulgarity. due to the very minkcoat which induces his suspicion of her frivolosity, legget severely humuliates gloria in public that pushes gloria into examining herself on her traumatic reflection which forces her to memerize the sexual taboo she tasted with her mother's former boyfriend at the age of 13, and that very forbidden fruit makes the way she is now...to regain her self-esteem, gloria aspires to repudiate with leggot that ends at the swift-speeded highway motorbile-racing then she dies at the course of escaping leggot.

The two leads are characters in void of pride and dignity: her pride is depraved by her pretentiously gay laughs in booze and men, her reputation gets rotten by her easy virtue; his dignity is also descended for his wimpish futility to seperate from his wife to keep his stance firm as a man of independence. both are graunchy and full of angsts like two degenerates seek solace at each other. the reclaim of self-esteem is the main drive for the characters to conduct upon their joy and sorrow.

"butterfield 8" is another flick upon the topic of woman in crossroad and her choices, and taylor's gloria chooses her individuality and her self-respect as a human, and then her death also inspires leggot to step out as his own without his generous wife, so both of them could fledge into maturity and decency....

Taylor always plays woman with the vigor of life as well as a merciful undertone of feminine maternality. despite her abitrary flatulency, gloria is actually a soft woman of frailty who could be easily battled by the cash of 250$, some mannerish poise of a plain rich dame and also the harsh bombardments of a violent brute. and she also shrinks back at the last encounter of motel "conference"...taylor's shrew always has an self-apologetic humbility to beseech your sympathetic forgiveness. is that a principle of femininity? why can't she just shamelessly grab the $ 250 then leave that imperious cocky man for good? why she has to assert "no sale"? annd why can't she just take possession of that damned gaudy minkcoat as conquest? why can't she just survive instead of dying to acquire pathos? briefly "butterfield 8" is a melodrama about a woman who just feel too sorry for what she has done.