Two for the Road is a 1967 British romantic comedy-drama film directed by Stanley Donen and starring Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney. Written by Frederic Raphael, the film is about a married couple examining their twelve-year relationship during a road trip to the south of France.
Several locations are used in different segments to show continuity throughout the twelve-year period.
"A Road for Two" is released in 1967: at the time it turns out to be a "strange" film, or at any rate different from what was expected after the names of the director and lead actress.
The story of a twelve-year-old couple is told in a different way from the classic cinema from which both artists came from. Instead of opting for the linear form of the traditional narrative, the plot intermingles the times and thus, we find ourselves passing from one stage to another of the characters' life together.
In total there are four periods that we will see pass before our eyes. And four journeys in memorable cars through France, from Normandy to the French Riviera, with filming in Nice and Saint Tropez, among other places.
Considered one of the best films of the season, it won the top prize at the San Sebastian Film Festival, Spain, in addition to other recognitions and nominations for different awards.
In any case, the originality of its proposal pleased the most restless and displeased the most conservative. Seen fifty years after its shooting, it appears to us as a work still mysterious and modern.
The main protagonists acted together for the only time on this occasion, but the chemistry between them is undeniable.
Raphael received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay, Hepburn received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress - Motion Picture Comedy or Musical, and Henry Mancini received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Score. The film's theme song, "Two for the Road," was composed by Mancini, who wrote many notable songs for films, including "Moon River" for Breakfast at Tiffany's. He considered "Two for the Road" his favorite of all the songs he wrote.
Cars featured in the film, either driven by the couple or ridden by them, include a white Mercedes-Benz 230SL roadster, an MG TD, a Triumph Herald, an Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint coupe, VW Microbus, and a Ford Country Squire; the cars are often used to reset the time period after a jump.
In one scene from this film, Audrey Hepburn appears dressed in a shiny black PVC pantsuit designed by Paco Rabanne. The film was ranked #57 in the American Film Institute's 100 Years... 100 Passions of the American Film Institute.
In preparing his romantic comedy Two For the Road , director Stanley Donen decided to use many of the cinematic techniques popularized by French "nouvelle vague" filmmakers. Jumping back and forth in time with apparent abandon, Donen and screenwriter Frederic Raphael chronicle the 12-year relationship between architect Wallace ( Albert Finney ) and his wife ( Audrey Hepburn ).
While backpacking through Europe, the student Finney falls in love with charming music student Jacqueline Bisset, but later decides on Hepburn, another aspiring musician (this vignette served as a launching pad for the film-within-a-film in Francois Truffaut's 1973 classic Day for Night ).
Once married, Finney and Hepburn go on a honeymoon, traveling in the company of insufferable American tourists William Daniels and Eleanor Bron and their equally obnoxious daughter Gabrielle Middleton. Later, during another road trip, Claude Dauphin offers Finney an irresistible job opportunity, which ultimately distances Finney from his now pregnant wife. Still staying on the road, the film then details Finney and Hepburn's separate infidelities .
The film ends where it begins, with Finney and Hepburn taking another vacation on the road, hoping to fix their unraveling marriage. While critics panned Stanley Donen's "revolutionary" non-linear storytelling techniques , audiences responded to the chemistry between Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney , not to mention Henry Mancini's unforgettable musical score . Note: many television prints of Two for the Road are edited for content, robbing the viewer of Finney and Hepburn's charmingly affectionate closing "Bitch/Bastard" words.