Amanda Mae Meyncke
Amanda Meyncke lives in Los Angeles and writes about movies for a living. She often looks around for someone to congratulate her, but there is no one there.
Is Audrey Tautou The Next Audrey Hepburn?
Amanda Mae Meyncke April 9, 2008
Editor’s Note: This week, with Priceless out in limited release, we asked our pal Amanda Mae to break down the Tatou-Hepburn corollary. She did, and she did so with amazing grace. Let’s get into it!
The Four Things Our Favorite Audreys Share:
They’re both European
Audrey Hepburn was born in Belgium, and lived much of her early life in London and the Netherlands; Audrey Tautou hails from France, makes her home there, and supports French cinema.
They’re Both Iconic Beauties
With her large, luminous eyes and endless charm, Audrey Tautou is the closest thing we’ve got to a modern Audrey Hepburn. Hepburn captured the nation’s heart with her acting skills, her classy intelligence and of course, her European exotic looks. No one could ever replace Hepburn: her work is too iconic and she became larger than just the woman and her films in much the same way the tragic Marilyn Monroe did.
As with Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn, we are fascinated by the beauty, charm and mystique of Audrey Tautou. All at once forward and demure, she is subtle in her seductive qualities, letting her face quietly express all that is held within.
They Have Picked Similar Roles
In the wildly popular and fanciful Amelie, Tautou plays a young French girl who lives half in and half out of reality, often imagining alternate realities or wondrous events in her own somewhat mundane life. Like in many of the roles Hepburn played before her, the appearance of a man in her world shakes things up and pulls her out of her sleepy existence. Tautou and Hepburn seem closest when comparing Holly Golightly from the famous film Breakfast at Tiffany’s with the mysterious Amelie Poulain from Amelie. Holly Golightly and Amelie are impulsive, even careless at times; even though they were acting in these films, it is the women behind these roles that brought the depth to these characters. Holly and Amelie are very alike, as both have cats they deeply love, both reach out as best they can to the men around them, and both are seemingly strong and headstrong women, who prove to be somewhat fragile in the end.
It’d be impossible to say who is the better actress. Hepburn’s range was wide, and throughout her career she appeared in thrillers, romantic comedies of sorts, and big-budget spectaculars. Tautou has likewise carefully molded her career, taking a turn in a large Hollywood production, The Da Vinci Code, but has maintained that she prefers sticking mainly to French films.
Though we may pine for the days of Monroe and Hepburn, we are lucky enough to be living in a time where beauty and brains don’t need to be separated. Audrey Tautou will continue to surprise, and delight for years to come as the closest thing to a new Hepburn there is right now.
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