Construction
on the Brooklyn Bridge began in 1869 and was completed in
1883. In Kate and Leopold, Stuart Besser (played
by Live Schreiber) finds an H. G. Wellsian "crack in
time" on the bridge which transports him from a spring
day in 2001 to April 28, 1876, when the dashing Leopold, Duke
of Albany (played by Hugh Jackman), is about to wed. (Since
Leopold's family was running low on finances, they relocated
to New York so that he could marry a rich American.) As preparations
are underway for the ceremony, Stuart appears and reappears,
intriguing the Duke to chase after him, and so the two enter
the "crack" back to 2001. After returning to Stuart's
apartment, Catherine McKay (played by Meg Ryan) climbs down
the fire escape to talk to Stuart, her former boyfriend, only
to discover that someone is in his apartment. Kate speculates
that he has a new girlfriend, but Stuart assures her otherwise.
In the morning, Stuart starts to take his dog on a walk, but
the elevator is stuck, so when the elevator door opens, Stuart
inadvertently jumps into the shaft. Suffering broken bones
in several places, Stuart is hospitalized, leaving Leo alone.
Gradually, Leo adjusts to modern conveniences and diversions,
while retaining his refinement as a gentleman who stands up
when a woman gets up from or is about to sit at a dinner table,
speaks with courtesy and eloquence, and exhibits the one virtue
noticeably absent in the present--integrity. As Kate gets
better acquainted with Leo, she is increasingly fascinated
by him. At first skeptical about Leo's claim to be a Duke,
Kate exploits his excellent diction by featuring him in a
TV commercial, but later she comes to believe that he is indeed
of noble birth when he locates a secret drawer in his 1876
Manhattan residence. Thus, she is swept off her feet, especially
when he takes her on a horseback ride through Central Park
(to chase after a purse snatcher) and provides a candlelight
dinner with a violin accompaniment (to apologize for correcting
misstatements made by her advertising agency boss at a dinner).
But Stuart escapes from the hospital one day, unaware of the
development of the romance. He insists that Leo should go
back to 1876, when the timing is correct to enter the "crack,"
and indeed the Duke reemerges at the 1876 wedding festivities.
However, Kate is upset that Stuart has acted without consulting
her and demands to be reunited with Leo. A wedding does take
place, but filmviewers will have to see Kate and Leopold
to find out who the bride is--and whether the event takes
place in 1876 or 2001. Kate and Leopold, directed
by James Mangold, transports filmviewers to a more sublime
if sexist era in human relationships, where men were gallant,
and women were subservient. More profoundly, the film also
appears to tell Americans that they are crass nowadays and
could improve their relationships if they could upgrade their
manners. MH
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