Sabrina

A heart-warming tale from the director of The Firm and Tootsie, Sabrina sees Sydney Pollack take the 1954 original and update it to New York in the Nineties.

Julia Ormond is a chauffeur's daughter, the titular Sabrina, who grows up in the shadow of the Larabee's money-filled lifestyle, silently worshipping the youngest son, David (Greg Kinnear). Soon she leaves their wonderland for art school in Paris and on her return, a changed woman, of course, charms the newly engaged David, who thinks he is in love with her. It is here that the elder Larabee, Linus (originally played by Bogie in Billy Wilder's version and here by the loveable Harrison Ford), enters the scene and attempts to put an end to the flirtation that could see him lose out on a multi-million dollar business deal.

However, as in all good romances, there is a third party involved - a love triangle, if you will. Linus, the workaholic brother, begins to suspect that his feelings for Sabrina aren't purely platonic and soon he is in love with her, too. Yet, there are tears and tantrums when she discovers that he has been using her as a pawn in an attempt to secure his business deal and so decides to flee back Paris.

Ford embodies the straight-talking stiff-lipped persona of Linus perfectly and Kinnear is far from miscast as the loveable rogue, who realises the error of his ways. Ormond is perfect, too, as the geeky servant girl, who comes of age and discovers that the key to beauty and glamour is simply a hair cut and contact lenses - a general consensus in movieland, no doubt.

Pollack's version of Sabrina Fair is delightful to watch. The quality of acting reiterates the fact that there are some American actors, who can deliver the goods without quirks, or special effects. The supporting cast is also brilliant and the director's decision to include scenes of the Larabee staff indulging in family gossip makes it even more endearing. Sentimentality is the order of the day, but in a nice way that doesn't and wont make an audience guffaw.