Enough with the Taxi Driver comparisons - which are totally valid, of course; did anyone else get the impression this movie was making references to Pygmalion, except with the roles inverted? It's the woman who teaches the man to become a gentleman - George repeatedly calls Simone a lady - by buying him fancy clothes? He's even called George, like George Bernard Shaw.
This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel.
Yes - I picked up on that quickly (and was amused by it) but it was just one facet of this gem!
shareI don't think the comparison works. Simone doesn't really teach him anything intentionally. He learns a lesson and becomes more jaded, nothing close to a gentleman. Their relationship is similar to James Stewart-Kim Novak in Vertigo, or Nicholson-Dunaway in Chinatown. It's about the illusions that men build up out of loneliness, need, and sexual frustration, and how the best way to protect yourself is to do as little as possible. Nothing at all like Pygmalion.
shareThe difference is that Simone had only the shallowest pretense of culture and education - she was just a hooker with high-paying clients and expensive clothes, so the most she had to offer George was improving his wardrobe. The person who was truly a positive influence in George's life was Robbie Coltrane's character - who offered him a place to live and something constructive to do besides being a hanger-on among gangsters and assorted low-life.
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