Diagonaldi Very well executed

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

pointyfilippa The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Edgar Allan Pooh . . . and a "high-end hooker" (which turns out to be five spots on the alphabet for the second-to-last letter). About an hour into this 80-minute BREAK OF HEARTS musical expose, drunken hot-shot orchestra conductor "Franz" offers all the guys in his "Cosmopolitan Symphony" a crack at knowing his wife "Constance" in the "Biblical Sense." Since the opening credits proclaim that BREAK OF HEARTS is the 801st U.S. film to receive the Merciful Papal Award of Approval (or MPAA #801), we can assume that Connie's hourly rental rate is one of the tidbits of information cut out of its final edit. Of course, Connie is also sloshed when she rattles on about her freebie forays into the World of Adultery for Franz's benefit, an indication that sex and booze go together like "love and marriage" in the Eyes of Rome. Unfortunately, viewers never learn which sin is mortal and which is merely venal: Ending Prohibition, or Fooling Around. Perhaps this Catechismic Ambiguity is what's keeping the AFI from burning BREAK OF HEARTS onto one of its Gold DVDs for distribution to the rest of our Galaxy.

rhoda-9 OK, here's the plot: Famous conductor and unknown composer fall in love and marry. He cheats on her, she walks out and won't return, he becomes a drunk, she returns and nurses him back to health. And, yes, that's IT! That's all there is, there isn't any more! It's as if the movie makers decided that, with Boyer and Hepburn on hand, no proper script was necessary. But this bare, banal drama is so devoid of interest no stars could save it, hard though they work to make something out of practically nothing.The absence of complexity makes Boyer's behaviour not only inexplicable but repellent. Why, after only a few months, does he cheat on his wife, whom we are told he loves passionately and who loves him? He tells her the other woman means nothing to him, she is the only woman he loves--typical banal, empty rhetoric of the cheating husband. Later, talking to a friend, he complains that his wife is immature and doesn't want to face real life. What does that mean--she wants him to be faithful? This puts the audience in the position of having to think, Oh, THAT's why he has a mistress--he's French! (Or, as we would say today, It's part of their culture.) Hepburn plays on the piano about a minute of a composition that Boyer inspires, but after that her composing is simply dropped, and her only role is the betrayed wife. She is also given a supportive, understanding boyfriend who looks and acts like her kid brother and who is played by an actor of no attractiveness or interest. These elements also make it seem as if the movie makers just couldn't be bothered.I give it a six for the fabulous leads, who, despite the dreary stuff they are saddled with, do their usual irresistible shtick-- Boyer passionate and seductive, and Hepburn is idealistic and luminous. If, as I do, you love watching them do it, this is worth your time, but you just see them doing it in a vacuum.

mark.waltz A love-starved musician who has an unrelenting crush on a temperamental orchestra leader (Charles Boyer), Katharine Hepburn manages to warm her way into his life just by seeming to be at the right place at the right time. They marry but his lavish lifestyle leads him to infidelity. Of course, Hepburn, proving what every woman knows, stands by him as he falls into alcoholic despair, only to save the day when he realizes what she has known all along, that he needs her more than he ever previously cared to admit.This handsome looking romantic drama features the two stars in a predictable story that is filled with some great classical music and believable performances by the two stars. Boyer, obviously, doesn't deserve Hepburn's love, but she perseveres, and the results never make you doubt what will happen. Jean Hersholt gives a wise performance as Hepburn's mentor, providing the heart behind the breakage.

songinmy_heart Alright, so it is clichéd, sappy, and, compared to today's standards, overacted and self-important...but so is Love. Two lost souls find their other half, and foolishly loose all. Max Steiner's theme given to Constance as her "song of love" is gorgeous. Hepburn is youthful enthusiasm and radiance, and manages a pretty strong portrayal of weakness for such a strong lady. Boyer can speak centuries of emotion with those incredible eyes. For anyone who feels deeply about music, this movie isn't so far-fetched--and it's great with popcorn! (This from a lover of depression era costuming--try to ignore the clown-collars they put poor Kate in after she is married--she looked better poor!) So it's a 1930's chick-flick. Relax and step back to a time when love was worth sacrificing everything for.