Q: So what’s your beef with Breakfast at Tiffany’s?
A: Two words. Holly Golightly.
I admit it, when I was a girl I fell hook, line and sinker for Breakfast at Tiffany’s, after all Holly Golightly had it all – the waif like figure, those clothes, that hair and to top it all she was so girly and fragile and every man who looked upon her went blind at the sight of her beauty – she was everyone’s darling and so was the actress who played her. Pretty much all of my friends would agree with me and whenever the question ‘what’s your favourite movie’ or ‘who is your favourite actress’ comes up I would stake my salary that ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ or ‘Audrey Hepburn’ would have at least a 90% response rate.
However over the years I have become less and less convinced, after all when you step back and take a look at the central character (HG) what does she represent but a vacuous, gold digger who cared more about jewellery and shopping than she did about people, getting a job, or her obligations to her family – not exactly the best role model in the world but none the less one that thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of girls choose to emulate above e.g. Melanie Griffiths in Working Girl, a rags to riches tale of a feisty (and attractive) young girl who makes her way up the corporate ladder using her ingenuity and brains, or maybe Charlie’s Angels, three beautiful crime busting, independent girls who bring down evil corporations – to name but a few? No doubt most women would rate these other films but I don’t think I’ve ever heard a girl refer to one of the central characters with the kind of adoration Holly Golightly’s character garners – but why?
HG is romanticized throughout the film, first with the revelation that she is running away from a poor background, but what does she do about it – find work or earn the respect of a circle of friends who would help her find her footing in the world et al … no, she leads a frivolous lifestyle of parties and powder rooms paid for by a selection of sugar daddies – charming, not so much a profession as the oldest profession. And in her defining moment at the end of film she decides in the heat of the moment to choose to ditch the hubby-to-be who’s been funding her lifestyle and courting her, and (supposedly) chooses love over money – but does she, or is she just responding to the selfish, whimsical behaviour that proceeded her throughout the film?
It’s easy to get so dazzled by Holly’s glamour that in our rush to emulate her we forget that she is empty and self loathing. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always been a firm believer in self image and first impressions, as the philosopher Mark Vernon wrote “They declare that it’s your personality that counts, not your shoes or necklace. They are wrong. Your look doesn’t just affect how people respond to you it speaks volumes about who you are”, however I think it’s also important to look beyond that point, especially when we’re choosing people, or characters to aspire to – I don’t care how many cries of ‘I only like Breakfast at Tiffany’s because of her clothes/hair etc, it’s not really about her character’, it’s a non argument, as if this were the case you would all be gushing about Roman Holiday, Two For the Road or one of the countless other films she has appeared in. Holly to me represents our culture today, she expected everything and was prepared to give nothing in return and then cried when it didn’t work out, and because it was a film eventually some dope came along and ‘saved’ her – well thanks, but as I said before – I think I’ll pass!
