F Scott Fitzgerald was about the first author I read in my young adulthood and I well remember devouring all his novels and short stories at that time. I also have a strong memory of watching a major BBC TV adaptation of "Tender is the Night" in the early 80's starring Peter Strauss and Mary Steenburgen, so I was keen to watch this 1962 adaptation of what is widely considered to be Fitzgerald's second best novel behind the immortal "Gatsby".
The story here concerns the gradual disintegration of the relationship between the brilliant young psychiatric doctor Dick Diver and his beautiful but troubled heiress wife Nicole. The couple with their two young children lead a peripatetic lifestyle amongst the beautiful people of Continental Europe, flitting between Paris with its expensive hotels and bars and the lovely scenery of Zurich where Dick ends up working and Nicole regularly returns for ongoing treatment of her deteriorating mental health.
The modern phrase "24 Hour Party People" could have been invented for them as no matter the time or place, it's party time with these two and their seemingly traveling entourage of so-called friends. As the story progresses, we see Nicole apparently regaining her equilibrium as Dick, up till now the strong one of the two, starts to unravel in the face of professional and personal disappointment. He turns to the bottle and as usual it's a one-sided battle with the bottle winning. With interference from Nicole's interfering, purse-string-holding sister who bears the irritating name Baby and a smooth as gelatine Italian Romeo in forever pursuit of his wife, can Dick pull himself together to retain her love and keep his family together?
Obviously as a Fitzgerald devotee, I really wanted to like this adaptation but somehow it never really gripped me despite the wonderful sets indicating the louche, luxurious lifestyle of the idle rich after the first World War strolling about palatial mansion-houses, driving vintage classic cars, wearing the sharpest and most glamorous clothing and naturally drinking only the very best alcohol at the time, of course, when Prohibition was still the law back home.
I just didn't feel the connection between Robards and Jones. Robards in particular just doesn't seem dashing or handsome enough to peel off the part of the irresistibly intelligent good doctor well I also just didn't feel that Jones had the capacity to pull off such a complex character as Nicole. The direction I found rather old-fashioned in execution almost as if it had been filmed in the static, unimaginative style of a director still stuck in the actual 20's.
Beautiful to look at but rather vacuous in content with rather flat performances up front, I think I'll try harder to look out that BBC dramatisation which made such an impression on me all those years ago.
The story here concerns the gradual disintegration of the relationship between the brilliant young psychiatric doctor Dick Diver and his beautiful but troubled heiress wife Nicole. The couple with their two young children lead a peripatetic lifestyle amongst the beautiful people of Continental Europe, flitting between Paris with its expensive hotels and bars and the lovely scenery of Zurich where Dick ends up working and Nicole regularly returns for ongoing treatment of her deteriorating mental health.
The modern phrase "24 Hour Party People" could have been invented for them as no matter the time or place, it's party time with these two and their seemingly traveling entourage of so-called friends. As the story progresses, we see Nicole apparently regaining her equilibrium as Dick, up till now the strong one of the two, starts to unravel in the face of professional and personal disappointment. He turns to the bottle and as usual it's a one-sided battle with the bottle winning. With interference from Nicole's interfering, purse-string-holding sister who bears the irritating name Baby and a smooth as gelatine Italian Romeo in forever pursuit of his wife, can Dick pull himself together to retain her love and keep his family together?
Obviously as a Fitzgerald devotee, I really wanted to like this adaptation but somehow it never really gripped me despite the wonderful sets indicating the louche, luxurious lifestyle of the idle rich after the first World War strolling about palatial mansion-houses, driving vintage classic cars, wearing the sharpest and most glamorous clothing and naturally drinking only the very best alcohol at the time, of course, when Prohibition was still the law back home.
I just didn't feel the connection between Robards and Jones. Robards in particular just doesn't seem dashing or handsome enough to peel off the part of the irresistibly intelligent good doctor well I also just didn't feel that Jones had the capacity to pull off such a complex character as Nicole. The direction I found rather old-fashioned in execution almost as if it had been filmed in the static, unimaginative style of a director still stuck in the actual 20's.
Beautiful to look at but rather vacuous in content with rather flat performances up front, I think I'll try harder to look out that BBC dramatisation which made such an impression on me all those years ago.