I was pleasantly surprised, if not amazed, by Jennifer Love Hewitt's performance in "The Audrey Hepburn Story." Her detractors have been carping for months about how she possessed neither the physique nor the talent to effectively portray the cinematic icon. I'm happy to say they were wrong.
Hewitt wisely chose not to impersonate Ms. Hepburn, per se, but rather convey a suggestion of the look, mannerisms, and presence that made her so endearing.
The 21-year-old teen queen undergoes a remarkable transformation in the film, so effective that despite the enormous narrative gaps in Marsha Norman's script, I soon forgot that I was watching Jennifer Love Hewitt portray Audrey Hepburn and believed that I was watching Audrey Hepburn.
As a film critic, I have suffered through Hewitt's previous performances in drivel such as the "I Know What You Did Last Summer" films, but I think "The Audrey Hepburn Story" has finally given us an indication of the enormous potential she has, and truly marks her arrival as an actor.
No, Hewitt wasn't quite able to maintain the illusion seamlessly throughout the film; as a 21-year-old who has apparently led a rather sheltered life, she had no possible frame of reference to draw upon to convey some of the more difficult passages in the actress' life.
But what Hewitt does succeed in doing is capturing the PRESENCE of Audrey Hepburn, not with Movie-of-the-Week histrionics but with subtle moments, such as the one in which she finally wins over the bile-spewing Truman Capote on the set of "Breakfast at Tiffany's."
The film as a whole is less impressive. It ends at the filming of "Tiffany's" -- the midway point of Hepburn's career -- and only tells half the story of her remarkable life.
I was also a bit bewildered by the casting of Eric McCormack as Mel Ferrer. McCormack is a fine comedic actor with a great sense of irony and timing, but he comes across as far too young and earnest as Ferrer -- who was a good ten years older than Hepburn and arrived with four children of his own, a fact not even addressed in the film. The "Will and Grace" star conveys none of the oily charm Ferrer has displayed in his wildly uneven film career, and emerges as a stalwart, monochromatic cheerleader for Hepburn, giving us not even a hint of Ferrer's enigmatic presence that left millions asking "Is she really going out with HIM"?
So the film's not perfect. It won't go down in the annals of television history alongside "Lonesome Dove" or "Rich Man, Poor Man," but when it is rebroadcast or released on video, it is worth seeing for one startling revelation -- Jennifer Love Hewitt's performance.
Hewitt wisely chose not to impersonate Ms. Hepburn, per se, but rather convey a suggestion of the look, mannerisms, and presence that made her so endearing.
The 21-year-old teen queen undergoes a remarkable transformation in the film, so effective that despite the enormous narrative gaps in Marsha Norman's script, I soon forgot that I was watching Jennifer Love Hewitt portray Audrey Hepburn and believed that I was watching Audrey Hepburn.
As a film critic, I have suffered through Hewitt's previous performances in drivel such as the "I Know What You Did Last Summer" films, but I think "The Audrey Hepburn Story" has finally given us an indication of the enormous potential she has, and truly marks her arrival as an actor.
No, Hewitt wasn't quite able to maintain the illusion seamlessly throughout the film; as a 21-year-old who has apparently led a rather sheltered life, she had no possible frame of reference to draw upon to convey some of the more difficult passages in the actress' life.
But what Hewitt does succeed in doing is capturing the PRESENCE of Audrey Hepburn, not with Movie-of-the-Week histrionics but with subtle moments, such as the one in which she finally wins over the bile-spewing Truman Capote on the set of "Breakfast at Tiffany's."
The film as a whole is less impressive. It ends at the filming of "Tiffany's" -- the midway point of Hepburn's career -- and only tells half the story of her remarkable life.
I was also a bit bewildered by the casting of Eric McCormack as Mel Ferrer. McCormack is a fine comedic actor with a great sense of irony and timing, but he comes across as far too young and earnest as Ferrer -- who was a good ten years older than Hepburn and arrived with four children of his own, a fact not even addressed in the film. The "Will and Grace" star conveys none of the oily charm Ferrer has displayed in his wildly uneven film career, and emerges as a stalwart, monochromatic cheerleader for Hepburn, giving us not even a hint of Ferrer's enigmatic presence that left millions asking "Is she really going out with HIM"?
So the film's not perfect. It won't go down in the annals of television history alongside "Lonesome Dove" or "Rich Man, Poor Man," but when it is rebroadcast or released on video, it is worth seeing for one startling revelation -- Jennifer Love Hewitt's performance.