May. 02, 2003 - 9:34 pm
i'm not sure what made me think of this one. it made it onto my list for some reason or another, but now i can't remember. it was nominated for quite a few Oscars including Best Director (Billy Wilder), Best Writing, and Best Actress (Audrey Hepburn). wow, i've just been reading over the IMDb trivia for this movie. it really makes you realize what a jerk Humphrey Bogart could be. if you want to read about that, click here.
it's about a young girl who lives on the estate of an extraordinarily rich New England family called the Larabees. there's the older brother Linus (Bogart), and the younger brother David (William Holden). David is just a carefree idiot jerk who loves women for like 5 minutes and then moves on to the next one. Linus is all business and works to increase the family fortune. Sabrina is totally in love with David for some reason though, and can't seem to even catch his eye.
her father sends her to Paris one day to learn cooking and to get away from David who still doesn't know she exists. when she returns, she's a bit more mature and attractive to the opposite sex and David actually falls for her. her dreams begin to come true, but she's also destroying a huge business merger for the family by interfering in David's already involved love life. that's when Linus steps in to try to muscle his way into Sabrina's heart and get her away from David and the business deal. he may be getting in over his own head though.
as with all of Billy Wilder's films this one was really enjoyable. i would have preferred that the combination of William Holden and Humphrey Bogart not been used for some reason, but they both played their parts well. Audrey Hepburn is stunning as always. i can't believe that her salary was 1/20 of what Bogart's was. that's astounding to me.
the cinematography is pretty creative in this. i particularly liked the scene where Linus has got David resting in a plastic hammock and they camera shoots Linus' face from a low angle and through the transparent hammock which rocks back and forth, distorting his face. that was a cool shot.
overall it's a cute movie, although quite predictable. it's not a life changing experience, but well worth a watch if you get the chance.