Darling Lili (1970)

Judging from the initial reception afforded Darling Lili, one would have thought Blake Edwards and Julie Andrews had committed a horrible crime by foisting this movie upon the public. Time has helped to correct that judgment, and Lili can now be seen for what it really is: an unfocused and overproduced film with enough assets to make it an entertaining way to spend an evening. Edwards's screenplay is the chief villain; it is a mish-mash of genres -- comedy, drama, spoof, musical, spy film, adventure, epic -- that tries so hard to be faithful to each genre that it never develops a consistency or personality. The changes in tone are frustrating and damage the film, but not fatally, and the film does raise some moral issues which it handles surprisingly well. More importantly, the film showcases Julie Andrews's many talents, allowing her to play a more complicated character than in many of her previous roles while still giving her the chance to let loose with a song in the manner that is uniquely hers. Her performance of "Whistling in the Dark" is especially memorable. There's little chemistry between Andrews and Rock Hudson (whose performance is only adequate), but there's good support from Jeremy Kemp. Edwards's camerawork is exciting (especially in the aerial sequences), and the costumes are period perfect. Lili has been shown in several different forms, each of a different length; the "director's cut" version is the most consistent, stylistically. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide