An Affair to Remember (1957)
*** (out of 4)
Nickie Ferrante (Cary Grant) and Terry McKay (Deborah Kerr) are both about to be married to very successful people but the two meet on a cruise and soon realize that they have fallen in love. To be sure, they decide to give their romance a six month break after which time they will meet on top of the Empire State Building but things take a wrong turn.
AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER has, for some reason, become one of the most loved romance movies ever made. I'm sure some of it is because of the attention it received thanks to SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE but even before that film this one had a nice following. I'm not saying this is a bad movie because it certainly isn't but at the same time I've always felt that the 1939 version, LOVE AFFAIR, was much better.
With that said,t his one here still has plenty of things going for it that makes it worth watching. There are also some flaws that keep it from being much better. In my opinion the two long-winded singing sessions by the children towards the end of the movie could have been edited out without any harm done. I'd also argue that there's really nothing original with the story and that even by today's standards it's a tad bit dated.
In my opinion, the film also runs a tad bit too long but I've always felt that the movie is so loved because of the final moments in the film. Obviously I'm not going to spoil anything but there's no question that director Leo McCarey does a marvelous job at building up the tension, the romance and the eventual outcome that happens. This final sequence is beautifully shot, perfectly director and so wonderfully acted that you leave the theater on such a great note that you can overlook what flaws the film had.
Kerr is certainly very good and quite charming in the film but for my money the success of the movie is due to Grant. The poor actor never really got the credit he deserves even in some of his greatest pictures and performances. As much as I think this film is overrated, at the same time I think Grant's performance is very much underrated as he just brings a certain charm and a certain comic timing that perfectly adds to the entertainment level. Going back to the final sequence, the way he cautiously plays it is so marvelously done that you really can't argue about the talent he had.
