Up at the Villa

source: Up at the Villa

Up at the Villa

I was surprised by the low vote average for this movie. I found the plot absorbing and not without charm. Anne Bancroft, Sean Penn, Derek Jakobi...these are actors that I live to see perform together. Usually Kristin Scott Thomas is not my cuppa tea. She's certainly cast according to type and turns out an immaculate performance. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed watching her fine, slim,erect, long-necked, doe-eyed, ultimately British performance. She possesses an irrefutably neat intelligence which one regards with only a very a slight feeling of protest. ::::::-::::::::-:::::::::-::::::::-:::::::::

Spoilers herein. You know, the story on which this film is based has real richness. It is about unintended wrongs and the business about Italian fascism is supposed to be the target. The language is rather internal. Love is just the frame. What a mess this film has made of it! The script took the story at face value and gives us the episodes as if they matter on their own. All the marvelous language and internal stance are gone. I suppose they thought some lush photography would suffice. How daft an assumption. There are some great actors here (Penn, Jacobi) and some at least competent ones (Bancroft, Thomas) -- Kristin sure has made some bad choices in films.-- But these walk through their parts, reading the story to us. There is perhaps enough to satisfy the Hallmark crowd, but all the art has been bleached out of this tapestry.

This movie should have been promoted more aggressively. It's low rating on IMDB is unwarranted because it is one of the year's best. Kristin Scott Thomas puts in an absolutely marvelous performance as Mary, a young British widow, penniless but beautiful. She is part of a group of British and American expatriates living in 1938 Italy. Her best friend, Ann Bancroft as the Princessa, advises her to marry the much older, but very rich British diplomat (James Fox) and take younger lovers. Two such lovers in the persons of Sean Penn (a married American of devastating charm but uncertain background) and Jeremy Davies ( a poor, young Austrian refugee) appear. The plot never slackens or loses interest as we follow Mary through a labyrinthe of unexpected twists and turns. I found this film charming and more than acceptable. It is one of the few in my lexicon which I will watch again.

I suppose part of the reason I like little films like this is in reaction to the Hollywood over the top blockbusters. The characters is this movie are well developed and believeable. The British lord looking for a wife that he can handle and that he can show off, and picking up Kristin Scott Thomas for cheap, he thinks. Anne Bankcroft playing the insultated lying Princess, way over the hill, but trying to still pretend she is in the elites. Sean Penn, Rowley, the American scoundrel with integrity. Rather than rehash the main details which is what everyone else has done, I just wanted to try to balance the negative comments of some, saying that this movie I would very interesting and quite entertaining and delightful. A light suspence costume drama set in beautiful Italy under the fascists. I gave it a 9.

If you like stories about the British upper class and their foibles abroad, you'll enjoy"Up At the Villa." (What a rotten title!) Edward Fox is the perfect gentleman (isn't he always?) Sean Penn is the perfect cad. (Isn't he always?) And Anne Bancroft notches up yet another role as the faded bitch. (Doesn't she do anything else these days?) It's a pretty straight and predictable love story/murder who done it, except we know all along that the victim "done it" to himself. It's in something the same genre as "Tea With Mussolini" with lovely shots of Florence and a faithful recreation of fascist Italy.

"You're never a great man, when you have more mind than heart." E.P. Beauchene In a nutshell, Mary, (Kristin Scott Thomas), a distractingly beautiful English widow has more heart than mind in this period piece. A noble thing to have, unless your naivety of heart gets you into places you never dreamed your heart would lead you. This excellent period piece takes place in fascist Italy. A group of English aristocrats worlds intertwine, with a twist. Kristin Scott Thomas' charmingly elegant character sparks life so intriguing, you'll find yourself leaning toward the tube. Many reviewers peg this as a tale of "lust". I disagree. I find no lust at all in this movie. What I do find, is a woman torn by her emotions and doing the right thing or the "kind" thing. Even Sean Penn is laid-back with his enduring advances. I found it to be a monument to human emotions, both caring and caustic.

Beautiful photography and atmospherics capture Florence and environs. Technically very well-made and expensive-looking production. Kristin Scott Thomas is perfect for the role and gives a terrific performance. The other cast members just seem to be giving their "standard" performance (Bancroft's standard mature woman routine that no one does better but she has done it since "The Hindenburg"). Ditto James Fox and the others. The late William Holden could not have accomplished what Sean Penn did in "Mystic River", for which Penn gained a well deserved Oscar award. Conversely, Penn cannot play the Holden-type role in "Up at the Villa". Bad case of miscasting with flat results by Penn. No chemistry with Kristin Scott Thomas at all. How can you make a dull, uninspiring film in an exotic setting with great actors in a highly charged brink-of-war scenario? SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE BUT THE FILMMAKER HERE HAS DONE IT!

Radiant performance by Kristen Scott Thomas, excellent performances by Sean Penn (understated) Ann Bancroft and James Fox as well as the actor who plays the Austrian refugee--make this one of the year's most underrated and best films. There are many nuances, plot twists, great dialogue, urbane situations to entertain and invoke thoughtful questions about love and marriage. Haus, the director who also made "Angels and Insects" knows how to present a superior piece of work.