I was seven years old when I first watched Sabrina. The remake, starring Harrison Ford, Greg Kinnear and Julia Ormond had just come out and my mother decided to have me watch the original before the new one. (I'd always had a thing for Ford, as long as I can remember) But about two hours later, I was enchanted, as everyone is, by Audrey Hepburn. I didn't mind William Holden either.
Sabrina tells the story of the titular girl, a "plain" young chauffeur's daughter of a wealthy Long Island family. She's plain in the sense that she's Audrey Hepburn in a ponytail. (This has been embraced now as a universal way to make beautiful girls seem merely pretty, see also She's All That, and America's Sweethearts) Sabrina is in love with the family's youngest son, playboy David (Holden) so her father sends her away to Paris, to grow up and go to culinary school. She lives, loves, and comes home as Audrey Hepburn in Givenchy couture. David is instantly smitten, despite that fact that he's engaged, to the daughter of an industrialist that his older brother Linus (Humphrey Bogart) is brokering a deal with. To save the deal Linus schemes to separate David and Sabrina, claiming to David that he'll just keep Sabrina busy while Davis find a way to end his engagement with minimal fallout. During this time Linus and Sabrina fall in love.
Hepburn is my favorite movie star, and this is my favorite of her films, and it's definitely not Bogey or Holden's best performances (Casablanca and Sunset Boulevard get those distinctions), the story line is riddled with cliches and at times the dialogue crosses the over from quaint to hokey, but all put together it's a beautiful and magical film. Plus, Hubert Givenchy personally did Audrey Hepburn's costumes and began a lifelong artist/muse relationship. Not too bad, especially because it gave this dress to the world:
Absolutely stunning. Plus the screen play makes excellent use of both "Isn't it Romantic" and "La Vie En Rose" two of the most beautiful love songs ever written
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