Based on Henry's James novella, Peter Bogdanovich brings us a period dramedy about American high society in Europe of the 19th century. Daisy (Cybill Shepherd) is a strong willed young heiress, a woman out of her time who isn't afraid to tease and flaunt authority figures as well as men, much to the chagrin of 'polite' society. Fresh faced yuppie Frederick Winterbourne (Barry Brown) tries to wrap his head around this unusual young woman as they tour around the beauty of Italy and France.
While it may be dramatically lacking, there's something breezy, cheeky and appealing about Bogdanovich's once maligned film, much like its title character. Off the bat, the production values are stellar: it's sumptuously photographed with excellent period detail as we go around the sun drenched country and old cities of South Europe. Also, Bogdanovich doesn't shy from long takes, allowing actors to build up a lot of chemistry and back and forth between them as they banter about society and the landscape, which of course, masks their real intent. James' writing, adapted by Frederic Raphael, is laced with subtext while being rather amusing, especially by the usually stuffy nature of period pieces.
Now, one thing made fun of back during the original release was Shepherd's performance, seen as too ditsy and airy, but I disagree. Shepherd's skills as a comic actress allow her to be somewhere between cunning and insolent, as befitting such a character, and she works well with the far more straight, traditionalist Brown as Winterbourne. Supporting them capably are the likes of Cloris Leachman as Daisy's dotty mother, Mildred Natwick as Daisy's stern aunt and especially Eileen Brennan as the prim, snobby socialite Mrs Walker who serves an ideological counterpoint to Daisy and does it superbly.
What ultimately does hold back 'Daisy Miller' is, ironically, the material itself: it isn't terribly cinematic, beautiful as the landscape is. James' story is very heavy on dialogue and situation as opposed to action, making it feel more like a stage play in style than a screenplay. 90% of the film is characters just waxing philosophical and discussing gossip and combined with the comic slant, does take down any real dramatic stakes as there's not much to lose for our lead other than 'respect'. Bogdanovich seems to have embraced the cheek of Daisy moreso than any sort of deeper satire of social structures and the pomp of Americans which the story clearly leans towards. That being said, it was still rather enjoyable. Long before the Merchant Ivory years made frills and carriages a must for cinema, a sense of humour and the strong cast make this pleasant, if not particularly demanding, viewing.
