My Fair Lady (1964): Shira's Take

I think this is the first time I've watched a best picture winner in the context of this project and disagreed with my former opinion. I had ranked this movie from the hundreds of times I'd seen it in the past 5 stars, the equivalent of 10/10, on Flixter. My opinion is slightly changed.

Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison have absolutely some of my favorite onscreen chemistry ever. They have a Benedick and Beatrice thing going on. I'm not saying that Eliza ultimately should have returned to the ungrateful, obnoxious Henry. I'm just saying I like how much they hate each other, and I like how much they secretly love each other. Another positive--subtle, interesting choreography (my favorite being in the horse races scene). This pairs with wide, swooping photography to make for a big, beautiful musical film. The costumes (designed by Cecil Beaton, who also did fabulous costumes for the otherwise awful Gigi) are astonishing. I mentioned to Eitan at one point: "If I owned ANY dress in this entire movie, I would wear it every day for the rest of my life." And since we're talking musical here, I have to mention the songs. Every single song is a hit. Not all songs are necessary in terms of plot ("Get Me to the Church on Time", "I'm an Ordinary Man", etc.), but they are all catchy and enjoyable with great lyrics.

Now to get to why I've changed my rating of this movie since the last time I saw it. There are extremely boring patches, and they really should have been edited out. I'm sorry, but this movie could be 2.5 hours long and not lose ANYTHING. The story drags right in the beginning (before Eliza goes to Henry's house), in slight patches throughout, and especially after the ball scene. It seems that many scenes could be shortened by about a minute or two, as well. But it definitely has to be said that I really appreciate the ending. It is an intriguing ending for a love story, and I actually think it had a lot of influence on the less conventional films of the late 60's and early 70's (The Graduate, for one, in its uncertain ending). All we know is that Eliza and Henry care about each other and embrace each other's obnoxious habits, based on Eliza's smiling at Henry's rudeness. I doubt that the filmmakers intended to imply that Eliza and Henry would get married. Indeed, I think they and the Colonel would end up three bachelors, as Henry hypothesized. Charming, and interesting. 9/10