Roman Holiday

Directed by William Wyler, Roman Holiday follows Audrey Hepburn’s Princess Ann as she escapes her handlers and embarks on a tour of the title city – with the character eventually forming a friendship with an ambitious reporter named Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck). Filmmaker Wyler, working from Ian McLellan Hunter and John Dighton’s screenplay, delivers a somewhat overlong and exceedingly deliberate endeavor that undeniably grows more and more absorbing as it unfolds, with the movie’s success due in large part to the often extraordinarily charismatic efforts of its two stars (and it doesn’t hurt, certainly, that the actors share an often breathtaking amount of chemistry with one another). And although the episodic narrative narrative can be, at times, a little on the hit-and-miss side, Roman Holiday, buoyed by its use of real-life locations, ultimately comes off as a thoroughly pleasant romantic drama that climaxes with an absolutely spellbinding final few minutes – with the note-perfect final shot the capper to a mostly engrossing piece of work.

***1/2 out of ****