From the Archives

TWO FOR THE ROAD (1967) (B) - Albert Finney and Audrey Hepburn star in this inventive look at the evolution of a relationship from meet-cute into an ossified marriage.

Stanley Donen ("Singin' in the Rain," "Funny Face") chops up the timeline with frequent flashbacks and flash-forwards that lend substance and an indie cred to a sneakily smart script by Frederic Raphael, the British-educated American whose credits include the original "Far From the Madding Crowd" and "Eyes Wide Shut." Raphael has an ear for the snap of dialogue between a man and a woman, as well as a confident hand with a narrative.

Hepburn is charming as usual, and she shows finesse as both the wide-eyed single gal and as the older, jaded wife. Finney is quite Finney throughout, not as successful at bridging the years. The eras are marked by the different model cars they drive or ride in; they had met on a European road trip, him an architect, her a singer. One series of scenes features the delightful William Daniels (TV's "St. Elsewhere") and Eleanor Bron as the Manchesters, annoying Americans on a European vacation with their over-indulged spoiled-brat daughter.

The film, despite capturing the gestalt common to '60s road movies, has aged well and still boasts a modern tone. The sometimes-happy couple give off a whiff of what it might have been like for Ben and Elaine of "The Graduate" after their bus ride, if they were plainly aware of how George and Martha turned out in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"