BREEZY

US, 1973, 100 minutes, Colour.
William Holden, Kay Lenz.
Directed by Clint Eastwood.

Breezy is clearly in the Love Story school and the romances that followed that box-office record breaker for a number of years. However, Breezy is one of the more vigorous offerings and is both enjoyable and helpful for discussions about love and marriage.

William Holden capitalises, even as he gets older, on the charm that made him a famous leading man. Here he is involved with a young girl, Breezy, attractively played by Kay Lenz. Some of the dialogue is quite sharp, some of it obvious, much of it quite wise.

Clint Eastwood is here directing his third film. Those used to his laconic western heroes or policemen will be surprised at his capacity for romance and sensitivity, parks and pounding surf as well as cosy firelight. Eastwood's first film as director was the thriller Play Misty for Me, which included an over-lyrical love sequence to 'The first time ever I saw your face'. He then went to the allegorical Western High Plains Drifter (which the protagonists of Breezy go to see!) and now has moved back to romance and lyricism. Breezy is good discussion material and would appeal especially to teenage girls (and to their fathers).

1. How did the name correspond to the mood and style of the film?

2. Was this a film about critical situations and real people? How real was Breezy? Were the issues that she talked about real? Did this alter audience response? Did it have a real impact?

3. How attractive was Breezy herself? The impact of the actress playing Breezy and her style? Your first impressions of Breezy during the credits and her relationship with Bruno? What principles did she have? How real was her life story? Why did she leave home? Was she typical of the younger high school generation of the middle seventies? Her life style? Her emotions? Was she real as an emotional person? The importance of the sequence when she was hitch-hiking? Her later waving to Bruno who did not recognise her? Her imposing herself on Frank?

4. Were real ideas explored in the film?

5. What kind of person was Frank? Typical of middle-aged Americans? Our first impressions of him with the girl in his home? What standards did he live by? Was he a good kind of person? Did he work hard and have good friendships? His relationship with Betty? The nature of his marriage and why it broke up?

6. What happened in the interaction of Breezy and Frank? How was the generation gap manifested? How little understanding was there on both sides? How much understanding? How did the generation gap come to be bridged?

7. Why did they grow in love? What self-giving was there? What esteem for each other? What effect did each have on the other?

8. What symbols did the film use for this growing in love and uniting them? The dog? The visit to the beach? The warmth in the home? The shared meals? The shared ideas?

9. How did the relationship between Frank and Betty comment on the relationship between Frank and Breezy? Why did Frank want to marry Betty? Why had he not succeeded with her? Why had she chosen to marry someone else? How was this important when Betty had the accident and threw light on Frank's situation at the end?

10. How did Frank use his work to live life instead of relating emotionally to people? The importance of the sequences of Frank with his friend? Their tennis games and the comments of the friend? The nature of their marriage? Contrasting with and paralleling Frank's situation? The envy of the friend of Frank's freedom and of his ability to relate to Breezy?

11. What comment did Breezy and her relationship with her friends make on the central relationship? The young people and their liaison, the dependence of the girl on the boy, the drug situation? How did Breezy react to this? How did it throw light on her relationship with Frank and the need for permanence?

12. How important to the film was the sequence with Frank's wife in the restaurant? Why was the impact of this sequence so strong (the angle at which Frank's wife was filmed - from Frank's point of view)? What did it show about the wife? Did it indicate why the marriage had broken up? The effect of this on Breezy?

13. How did the film show they had grown in happiness - the time with the clothes, the time in the park?

14. How do you account for Frank's breaking with Breezy? Why was he frightened? What influence did his friend have? How cruel was he to Breezy? Relentlessly? Her response to this? Could she do anything else? Was she capable of doing anything else?

15. The impact of Betty's accident? Frank's sincerity and friendship for her? Betty's account of the happiness she had in the week of marriage - how did this influence Frank in understanding his love for Breezy?

16. How happy was the ending? How plausible? Was a permanent relationship between the two of them possible? Was the message of true love a valid one?

17. How good a film was this? It may have been sentimental and romantic, but due to Eastwood's direction - despite a lot of romantic, surf, park and firelight sequences - he got to grips with the characters. He got excellent performances from the supporting actors. How important was this?