Review #1397: Gigi.Cast:
Leslie Caron (Gilberte "Gigi"), Maurice Chevalier (Honoré Lachaille), Louis Jourdan (Gaston Lachaille), Hermione Gingold (Madame Alvarez), Eva Gabor (Liane d'Exelmans), Jacques Bergerac (Sandomir), Isabel Jeans (Aunt Alicia), and John Abbott (Manuel) Directed by Vincente Minnelli (#405 - The Reluctant Debutante, #510 - Father of the Bride, #620 - Lust for Life, #878 - The Long, Long Trailer, #986 - An American in Paris, and #1031 - Meet Me in St. Louis)
Review:
"I feel that a picture that stays with you is made up of a hundred or more hidden things. They’re things that the audience is not conscious of, but that accumulate."
Style can come in many forms, particularly when it comes to film. Vincente Minnelli was a director noted for his style when it came to film, even if his first directorial effort there was when he was already 40 years old. Minnelli's first job after graduating high school was as a window dresser in a department store, but he later jumped to photography an assistant, which helped him spark interest in the theater due to the work being to photograph actors of the theater district of Chicago. In the theater, he started as a designer for costumes and sets before gradually rising to director and moving locations to New York City, and it was his work there that led to a brief and uneventful time with Paramount Pictures in 1937 and a fruitful chance in 1940 with Metro Goldwyn Mayer that lasted for the next two decades. The person credited with discovering and luring him to MGM was lyricist and producer Arthur Freed, who let his directors have mostly free rein while making musicals for the studio for over two decades, with this being the fourth-to-last film from his iconic Freed Unit. It had a considerable amount of hits and attention, with Freed winning two Academy Awards for Best Picture for this and An American in Paris, while Minnelli won an Academy Award for his direction in this film. In a career that spanned from Cabin in the Sky (1943) to A Matter of Time (1976), he had a style to him that served him well in numerous musicals alongside a few comedies and melodramas over the years, which served him significantly well with this film, so who better to accompany a stylish production like this than French ballerina-turned-MGM musical star Leslie Caron, who had starred in Minnelli's An American in Paris earlier to accompany fellow French actors in Jourdan and cabaret singer/entertainer Maurice Chevalier in a production with a good deal of shooting in Paris.
This was an adaptation of the 1944 novella of the same name by Colette, which had already been turned into a film in 1949 in France along with a stage adaptation two years later (which had a young Audrey Hepburn in the role). Alan Jay Lerner wrote the screenplay for the film along with the lyrics while the music was done by Frederick Loewe and arrangement/conduction by Andre Previn. Lerner and Loewe were known already for their collaboration together on theater productions such as Brigadoon, Paint Your Wagon, and My Fair Lady. These three, alongside Minnelli and Freed, would contribute to the film winning nine Academy Awards (which also included wins for art direction, costume design, cinematography, and editing), while Chevalier received an honorary award. For a film that was found to be appreciated by audiences, it was one that had tinkering before it went into general release, since Lerner and Loewe felt that the pre-screening was a bit too slow with creamy ill-defined music despite audiences rating it favorably. Their appeals to producers for $300,000 to improve the film (with a bluff offer to buy the print for $3 million) led to reshoots (including a re-orchestration), most notably with the "I Remember It Well" number, which was directed by Charles Walters. One also can't forget that the filmmakers had to make sure to approach the subject of courtesans (a word I confess to having to search up) with subtlety. It certainly goes to show the amount of craftsmanship and care it can take to make a grand musical worth viewing, with this being a capable dazzler with something to show for everyone that works itself out effectively enough. Caron excels with charm and innocence, a presence that invites one further without seeming graceless, which also goes to the singing for the character (done by Betty Wand, much to Caron's disappointment) in making these songs come together with warmth. When he is present on screen, Chevalier makes quite an impression on you, a confident and seasoned performance through and through. Jourdan does well in an aimless (or at least bored with a twinkle) but pleasurable balance to Caron, filled with debonair attitude that makes for interesting chemistry. Gingold and Jeans lend a dignified hand in their manner that makes for a few humorous moments (such as during "I Remember It Well", for example). There is a warm quality to the atmosphere of this film, where one almost seems to feel like they are really in Paris with these quirky characters for 115 minutes, from its wonderful costumes to its camerawork. It has endured for over six decades without seeming to require an updated version, timeless in its own right as a key hurrah for musicals in its era and for MGM as a whole for its irresistible charm.
Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.
