dr_clarke_2 Review of An American in Paris

An American in Paris (1951)

Plot and characterisation are sacrificed for the musical numbers

[6/10 · 26 June 2020]

An American in Paris was the first of two musicals directed by Vincente Minnelli which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and both are set in Paris. Whilst musicals are not to everyone's test - including mine - it's exactly the sort of Hollywood musical that was enormously popular in the 1950s, and if you get into the required mood it's easy to understand why. An American in Paris is one of those musicals in which people spontaneously burst into song and dance; realism is not the order of the day and is not intended. Whilst star Gene Kelly reportedly wanted to film on location in Paris, the entire movie is shot on studio sets (the transition to these from opening stock location footage of the real Paris is not entirely convincing), which never quite look authentic. But this doesn't really matter: Minnelli wasn't shooting a documentary or a drama and the sets - along with the lavish costumes - provide the very spectacle he probably desired. And this is a bold, colourful musical, culminating in the extravagance of the last seventeen minutes of the film, which has no dialogue and consists entirely of a ballet. So complex and demanding is the sequence - which is filmed against bespoke, stylised sets - that it has its own cinematographer, John Alton. The story concerns American ex-pat Jerry Mulligan, who falls in love with a woman called Lise Bouvier, played by Leslie Caron; naturally, things don't go smoothly, which is what drives the slight plot. Georges Guétary's Henri Baurel is engaged to be married to her, resulting in the famous scene of Henri and Jerry singing "S'wonderful, s'marvellous" without realising that they are singing about the same woman. Clearly, this is simple fare in story terms, and Alan Jay Lerner's screenplay sacrifices characterisation for the musical numbers, although he includes plenty of appealing whimsy, with the characters introducing themselves in voice-overs at the start. It's often quite funny too, especially during the scenes between Nina Foch's Milo Roberts and Kelly, to whom she acts as mentor and would-be suitor. The actors are clearly chosen for the dancing skills rather than their acting talents, although Kelly has both and makes an enormously charismatic lead (it helps that there is something simultaneously very impressive and very silly about tap-dancing). Aside from Kelly and Oscar Levant - who plays Jeff's friend Adam Cook - most of the cast is French, which at least adds some authentic accents to the film. Minnelli's direction is very assured: he's not afraid to include extravagant visual flourishes, such as other actors appearing in frames when we first see Leslie Caron's Lise dancing. There's a scene in which Adam Cook fantasises about playing a piano concert: during his dream performance, the camera cuts to multiple other Adam Cooks, including one playing the drums and one conducting. Occasionally, Kelly directs (as well as choreographing the dance sequences) and it's hard to spot the difference. Of course, with any musical, enjoyment depends on an appreciation of the music: the music in An American in Paris was composed by George Gershwin in 1928, with lyrics added later by his brother Ira, and writing a film around the music than vice versa pays off. It is perhaps this that results in An American in Paris suffering from a weak plot and characterisation, with the music and dancing given precedence over either. But then, that isn't unusual in musicals and it could be argued that for people who enjoy them that is rather the point.