Review of Paris When It Sizzles (1964) by Daryl L — 21 Dec 2009

Luckily, I enjoyed the ending. This movie spends a long time tackling the process of script writing. Of course, that's the main theme of this film, a film within a film. The main characters Richard Benson (William Holden) and Gabrielle Simpson (Audrey Hepburn are also the characters in the story that they both made, fictional but relative.

Ms. Simpson comes into the hotel unit of a well-known screenplay writer Richard Benson. She is his official typist. It's another typical story of boy meets girl. One is rich and well-known, one is ordinary. they share great moments, fall in love, and that's it; a romantic story. The fact that this film stars two of the most popular movie personalities of that time is a quantifiable idea. This was a big hit in the 60's. But I can see why; the film is bold in nature. It establishes some kind of watermark to its audience - that imagination is all that it takes to make a long shot to success. To find something is to invest, for a good relationship maybe, and always find time to be eager to pursue whatever the priorities are.

The start of the film (or should I say the first half) is a really interesting one. The story is predictable but at least one can see its progress. The guy, Richard Benson makes his way to Ms. Simpson, for no reason at all. Of course, they are two beautiful people inside one room, how would you expect them to react? Unusually, the girl, Ms. Simpson gives in and they become lovers with a snap of fingers.

This film is witty and intelligent. Honestly, to write something about writing is not an easy task. You might want to consider several factors to start with your story. One must be confident enough to expose that whatever he's doing results to the right outcome, and being not just posing and hovering around like crazy dogs. For that, I commend the story.

But aside from that, I did not like the idea in general. The characters are just flirting around. Ms. Simpson has a fiance but still falls in love with another man just like that. In "Casablanca", I adore the character Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman). The expression on her face reflects that she still has feelings for Rick Blaine (Humhrey Bogart), but she did not give into temptation. She left him, because she's committed. That's one way of showing your certainty in whatever decisions you have done.

Richard Quine's "Paris When It Sizzles" is a fantastic watch, except that for so many reasons, I think the events are a sort of a mess.