Film | An Affair To Remember

I originally bought this film on DVD a few years ago and have never gotten around to watching it. As I continue writing on this blog I have come to realize how many movies I have bought and never watched. Anyways, I decided to watch this picture as apart of the Darling Deborah Blogathon. I have only seen Deborah Kerr in a few other films (Separate Tables and The King and I) but I have seen those films in so long I couldn't possibly write a post on those. I also love every movie I've ever seen with Cary Grant so how could I go wrong?

AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER (1957)

"Every precious moment of the glad...tender...
triumphant love they found -- and almost lost!"

THE PLAYERS:
Cary Grant - Nickie Ferrante
Deborah Kerr - Terry McKay
Richard Denning - Kenneth Bradley
Neva Patterson - Lois Clark
Cathleen Nesbitt - Grandmother Janou

THE STORY:
Although each is already engaged to another, Nickie Ferrante (Cary Grant) and Terry McKay (Deborah Kerr) meet on an ocean liner and fall deeply in love. Tempting fate, they agree to meet at the Empire State Building in six months if they still feel the same way. But a tragic accident prevents their rendezvous, and the lovers' future takes an uncertain turn. [Netflix] 

MY THOUGHTS:

When I sat down to watch the movie I had a pretty good idea of what the movie was about. Two people who are engaged to other people meet on a ship and fall in love (having an affair to remember) and decide to meet up six months later at the top of the Eiffel Tower. When tragedy strikes their affair is put on hold and their love for one another is put to the test. Now I was a little angry while looking at the IMDB page prior to watching it and learning what the tragedy was before hand. While it ruined the twist, it definitely didn't ruin he movie.

I thought Cary grant and Deborah Kerr carried this film superbly. Their chemistry was refreshing and their acting was on par. The scenes where they are trying to act like they didn't know each other were quite funny. In the dining room and especially when grant is circling the stairs so they can talk really had me in stitches.

 

My favorite part of the film actually had nothing to do with the main story. I just adored Nick's (Grant) grandmother Janou, played by Cathleen Nesbitt, that they go visit while on shore in France. Her acting was subtle but really made me feel every emotion she had during their stay. The way her face so subtly changed to show her sadness when she heard the ship's horn. I actually got a little teary eyed seeing her watch them go. This was probably one of my favorite scenes from any film I've ever seen. So much is learned about all of the characters involved and there is so much care/loved felt between all of them.

One thing I found distracting was Cary grants skin tone. I know he was always a tan guy, but I couldn't stop thinking about his skin. I thought it aged him and maybe it wouldn't have been so apparent if he hadn't been paired with the very fair skinned Kerr.

Ive written about how much I enjoy Cary Grant as an actor, but this was the first time I've watched Deborah Kerr in a film where I really noticed her acting. I found her form of acting very easy to watch. She had a very soft way of conveying her feelings on screen. She could use her eyes and expressions to show her happiness or sadness without using words. You could actually see her acting flow from being totally against falling in love to not wanting to be apart from her newly found love effortlessly, as if it were her actual feelings.

I really enjoyed this film and wish it hadn't taken me so long to see it. I liked the story so much I might go see the original and remakes.