Sabrina

The temptation to compare it with the 1954 version is not small. And it is a good thing because the film has the force to use its voice. Julia Ormond is realy Sabrina. And Harrison Ford is a revelation as Linus. But, for me, the authetic good points are Miriam Colon as lovely Rosa and Nancy Marchand as wise,fascinating Maude Larrabee. Short, a seductive film.

Passable but overlong remake of the classic Audrey Hepburn vehicle will play best for those not familiar with the original. The cast(Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond, Greg Kinnear) performs well and its production values are high but director Sydney Pollack's pacing tends to flag. By contrast, Billy Wilder's direction of the 1954 version is much tighter and quicker. Interestingly this "Sabrina" is 15 minutes longer than its predecessor but thanks to Pollack those extra 15 minutes feel like 30. Also, Barbara Benedek's and David Rayfiel's script lacks the wittiness that scenarists Billy Wilder, Samuel Taylor("Vertigo") and Ernest Lehman("The Prize," "North by Northwest") provided the first time around.

Bottom line: 6 out 10.

Sabrina Fairchild (Julia Ormond) grew up as the mousy daughter of the chauffeur (John Wood) of the wealthy Larrabee family on the north shore of Long Island. It was a grand estate and she would spy on their grand parties from a tree. Maude Larrabee (Nancy Marchand) inherited the Larrabee Corporation from her dead husband. Cold-hearted Linus Larrabee (Harrison Ford) took the company to even greater heights. David (Greg Kinnear) is the playboy son who Sabrina is completely infatuated with. She goes off to Paris to work on Vogue as a lowly assistant. She slowly moves away from her David infatuation to a love affair with a photographer. Meanwhile David is falling for Elizabeth Tyson (Lauren Holly) whose family business Linus wants to merge with. Elizabeth wants to marry David but he is reluctant to let go of his playboy lifestyle. Sabrina comes home and David doesn't recognize her at first. David becomes infatuated threatening to derail the marriage plans and Linus' big business deal.

The movie is asking too much of Julia Ormond. She looks too old to play a teenager. She is also too young to play the love interest for Harrison Ford. Their chemistry is way too cold. That is the biggest missing element. Greg Kinnear actually has better chemistry. They could have worked together in a romance. Harrison Ford is not good in this role. In fact, I have difficulty pointing to any good romantic leading roles for him that actually worked without an action thriller. However, the movie has the solid foundations of the '54 film. That much is there. It has some great scenes. It seems to always work when Julia Ormond gets emotionally walloped. She's possibly the best part of the movie. Ford just doesn't have that extra gear to be the sensitive romantic lead when the movie calls for it.

Many critiques on this site suppose that it is somehow superior to the original. I am not sure how this can hold up. While Harrison Ford and Greg Kinnear are fine actors in their own right, comparing them to the coupling of Bogart and Holden is ridiculous. Just because a movie is OLD does not make it better, but if it is impeccably filmed and acted superbly, what is the point in redoing it to inferior standards? I suggest that the state of movie-making has in fact declined, as the art form has given way to popular sentiment, over-the-top portrayals of characters, and remakes which attempt to market themselves on previous successful attempts. To say that someone who repainted a Michaelangelo has made it somewhat made it better because painting has "evolved" is equally as stupid as saying any remake improves. And while Audrey Hepburn is not the world's finest actress, she has a unique cinematic quality which cannot be imitated or reproduced, much like her co-stars in this film. Please Hollywood, stop reproducing classics simply because there is a drought of originality and screenplays. Try rereleasing these classics so the public can see movies as they were meant to be viewed.

Romantic is the word for this movie. The story, the settings, everything adds up to romantic. And it's clean - no gratuitous sex scenes or foul language! A rarity for a 90s movie. This movie has a timeless quality to it, and part of the reason is the (again) extremely romantic score! Many critics panned this version of "Sabrina", unfairly comparing it to the original Audrey Hepburn "Sabrina". Nobody could ever compare to Audrey Hepburn, but Julia Ormond is a fine Sabrina in her own right. She makes the transition from awkward teen to glamorous woman with subtlety and grace. Greg Kinnear shows a natural flair for acting in his first major movie role.