Up at the Villa

Rating:
Summary: Even Florence Can Be Dull
Review: I wound up at this movie very spur of the moment, having run into my friend Sabine at Union Square subway station: "Do you want to see a movie?" she asked, and so off we went to see what film was going to start in the next few minutes. The winner: "Up at the Villa", but that was about the only thing it could win from me.

A young woman who knows a lot of rich people in Florence but is not rich herself will probably marry a stuffy Englishman years older than herself. He's got money and position--that counts for something, you know. But then, spur of the moment, she has a one-night stand with a young musician/servant, and before you know it, there's a corpse, and she has to turn to devil-may-care Sean Penn and then, well, just nothing goes the way she wishes it would, but that's why you have to act responsibly to start with.

Of course, Florence is beautiful, but I just found these people to be reprehensible and even vaguely boring. Anne Bancroft looms large as a snoopy rich widow in this pre WW2 Tuscan setting; she's acceptable, but go back down to the video store and leave this one up at the villa.

Rating:
Summary: Without Kristen Scott Thomas ¿ 2 Stars
Review: If there was ever a need for evidence that one great actor/actress cannot carry a mediocre film, "Up in the Villa" satisfies that need. Kristen Scott Thomas is asked to carry nearly the entire load in this film and she does marvelously; however, the story itself is pedestrian and the essence of stereotyping and cliché.

Set in Italy at the threshold of WW II, the film is the consummate exercise in pigeonholing. The Italian police are corrupt, brazen and supercilious; the European petty nobility are arrogant, easy to dislike and appropriately self-consumed; the lone American (Sean Penn) is hopelessly irresponsible, brash, superficial, cocksure and a borderline incompetent; and the innocent refugee (Davies, who is also great) is loveable, poor, misunderstood and eventually suicidal because of his adulation of a woman (Kristen Scott Thomas). The English gentleman is, of course, properly moral, quietly patrician and appropriately self-effacing when required.

Kristen Scott Thomas, Mary in "Up in the Villa," plays the part of widow beset by many urges, ghosts, a spot of rebellion, not to mention some deep-seated personal insecurities. As only she can, KST pulls together all these facets with dialogue, delicate mannerisms and her copyright look - but in the end, even the writer must have been unsure that the story was carried, because, reiterating the boorish plot out-load falls to bare discourse between a now apologetic Mary (KST), and a suddenly (again) haughty Princess. Sean Penn plays the role of the American, but he comes off more as sort of amalgam of Fonzy and a mongrel pound-puppy. The stereotype of the American seems to be aimed at portraying the Euro version of a "strong silent type," but he just comes across as an American looser - which, on second thought, may have been the director's intent all along.

You'd think after devoting a couple of hours to watching this, that the writer would reward the audience with an ending at least worthy of the actors, if not the plot. Regrettably even the ending is weak, so weak in fact that when Mary wanders off with the American, who can tell whether it's good, bad or if it even matters to them or anyone else. It amounts to sort of an "on the train" version of riding off into the sunset -- but just looks like the director finally admits to being bored with the whole affair.

If you're a Kristen Scott Thomas fan, see the film to watch a great actress at the top of her craft, otherwise your time may be better spent on other things.

Rating:
Summary: A Mediocre Movie Grows From a Great Book
Review: The cast in this movie is exceptional, and the book is among the author's (W. Somerset Maugham) best, but somehow something got very, very lost in the translation and the movie is merely okay. I don't know why, exactly. It's been said that Maugham is extremely difficult to translate onto the screen, and this movie is Exhibit A. My advice: buy the book and sit back for a great, luxurious read. Skip the movie.

Rating:
Summary: Up At The Villa-VHS
Review: To settle or wait for true love-isn't that the question we all want answered. In 'Up At The Villa' Sean Penn and Kristen-Scott-Thomas give very strong performances in the lead roles. As for Anne Bancroft, she may not appear in more than one or two films a year but her contribution to this movie was extremely fine and she was so intriguing to watch in such a character. The Italian scenery is beautiful-this movie truly exceeded my expectations-I cannot wait for Amazon to bring this out on DVD. Movies of this genre are often underappreciated-but under the direction of Haas this is not to be missed! I last purchased 'An Ideal Husband' from Amazon-even my boyfriend-an action film fanatic-adored the amusing dialogue and silly storyline. 'Up At The Villa' is outstanding-I could watch it every night!

Rating:
Summary: Up At The Villa
Review: UATV is from a Somerset Maughin novella. It takes place as World War II reaches Italy. Kristin Scott Thomas plays a complex Mary Panton, widowed, in search of romance and a rich husband, who stays at her friend's Florence Villa. Sean Penn plays the catalyst, Rolly Flint, a dashing American playboy out for fun and frolic. But Mary Panton is about to accept a proposal from the older Sir Edgar (played by the worst actor I've seen in years, James, or is it Edward Fox, one of them can act, to quote another reviewer) and she spurns Flint's offer. She has four days to decide to accept the marriage proposal and thus change her life and move to India with Sir Edgar. In the meantime, Flint makes his play for her. But Mary makes a play for a penniless refugee, who is a restaurant Waiter turned terrible violinist. The violinist falls in love with our Mary and kills himself in the process. Why she would jump in the sack with this loser is beyond me and obviously the scriptwriter as well. There's no stisfactory lead-in to action here and the explanation that she wants to do something 'good' is too comical to be believed. But, hey, Penn gets her out of the mess!

Anne Bancroft is the light touch with thoughtfully-placed humour. The directing by Philip Haas is amateurish at best and is drastically annoying. A film school dropout could do better! Or perhaps it's the editing and the major continuity mistakes. But--and it's a BIG 'but'--the real pleasure is watching Kristin Scott Thomas in the lead role as Mary Panton. She's almost in every scene. Without her, the picture is a dud, but she raises it up beyond an Oscar Acadamy nod. Her acting is aggressive and carries the accolade of being in the vein of a new artistic style. Her acting/reaction during a possible rape scene is worth the price of admission, as is the scene in the small chapel with lemon trees. See it just for her! I hope the American Academy does give her a nod, a big one!

Rating:
Summary: Way too much spare time
Review: UP AT THE VILLA illustrates the mischief one can get into when burdened with too much spare time.

Mary Panton (Kristin Scott Thomas), a widowed Brit whose husband recently died after squandering their fortune, blast his eyes, is residing in 1939 Florence. Chamberlain has just sold the Czechs down the Vltava, Mussolini is getting uppity, and war appears likely. Panton lives UP AT THE VILLA, the owners of which, friends of Mary's, are away. Mary spends her idle time swanning about with fellow expats and contemplating the not entirely welcome offer of marriage recently tendered from the aging, but rich, Sir Edgar Swift (James Fox), who's expecting any moment to be named the new Governor of Bengal.

One evening, Panton attends a lavish dinner put on by her friend, the Princess San Fernando (Anne Bancroft), which comes off swimmingly except for a wretched example of entertainment for hire by a refugee Austrian musician, Karl Richter (Jeremy Davies). Later, Mary almost runs the man down with her car, and subsequently invites him back to the villa for a meal. Feeling sorry for the young fellow's miserable life, and wanting to show him a good time, she sleeps with him believing it'll be no more than a one time tryst. But, he returns the next night and forces himself upon her while professing his undying love. After Panton rejects his advances, Richter kills himself with a pistol given by Swift to Mary for her protection in these unsettled times. So now, what's a poor girl to do with an inconvenient corpse, especially as Sir Edgar is soon due back and anticipating her answer to his proposal?

UP AT THE VILLA isn't a bad film so much as just unengaging. Panton is so imprudent and so lacking any real purpose in life that it's hard to care what sort of predicament she gets herself into. The man who eventually bails her out, a rich and maritally unfaithful traveling Yank named Rowley Flint (Sean Penn), is equally undeserving of audience sympathy if for no other reason than the director didn't develop his character enough. Is he a cad or a knight in shining armor? The local cop investigating Richter's death, Beppino Leopardi (Massimo Ghini), could perhaps have achieved some viewer goodwill if it wasn't for his SS-like black uniform and his unswerving allegiance to Fascism. Richter starts out with a boyish appeal, but swiftly loses it. Except for the well-intentioned and honorable Swift, there's no one here to like, and stewing in their own juice probably serves them all right. For this fictional group of misfits, the war probably did a service by forcing them into something less frivolous - like survival.

If Panton calls me up offering a quick tumble, I might award more than three stars. I can be bought. Otherwise, UP AT THE VILLA has marginal merit.

Rating:
Summary: Somerset Maugham's Novella comes to life
Review: We rented this video based on the legend on the cover, and didn't quite realize it would turn out to be the treat that it eventually was. This brilliant adaptation of a Somerset Maugham novella turns out to be one of the best things about 2000's art-film scene, though it has gone largely unnoticed, and even passed the eyes of critics without so much as a murmur.

That is sad, because 'Up at the Villa' features Kristin Scott Thomas in her strongest and most well-written role yet. This is an actress who deserved to pick up an Oscar for 'The English Patient', but her performance in this film beats that hollow. It also stands out because its a faithful reproduction of the character in the novella, making this feature one of the more successful book-to-movie transfers.

Sean Penn however, falters. In a role that could well be carried out by anyone from Henry Thomas to Harrison Ford, Penn is dull, lifeless and utterly uninteresting. However, his chemistry with Thomas is fodder enough to keep this film on its feet and the fast pace never slows down, even in the slower conversational segments. Set in Florence, Italy, the cinematography is flawless and the acting superb, though the real scene-stealer could well be Anne Bancroft, in a role that she walks through splendidly.

The story is simple : Scott Thomas is a penniless well-bred girl at the Villa of her beau, an aging man soon to be the Governor of Bengal (they are all British, by the way). Shes doing it solely for the money and the sense of security, as her last marriage was a total disaster and she 'doesn't believe in love anymore'. It takes Sean Penn, a smooth talking American to make her see that passion is what makes life worth living, and that one must take ones' chances. This lends the film a predictable and thoroughly plain ending (it even read quite plainly in the book, if I remember) but it works.

This film made me realize what a treasure we have in Kristin Scott Thomas. She has one of the most expressive faces and such an excellent sense of timing. She also carries herself with the most regal bearing, bringing to mind the days of Ava Gardner and Audrey Hepburn. No contemporary actress can hold a candle to Thomas - at least not in this film!

'Up at the Villa' should be seen for many reasons. One, its not often that an unsung movie of this calibre shows up. Second, the performances of all the female leads are outstanding, and third, the screenplay is the best I have ever witnessed the whole of this year. This is story telling at its' masterful best, and it should not be missed. Compelling, essential viewing.

Rating:
Summary: It does not have the character sketches of the book.
Review: Yes, I know you know it is not the book. But I have to say so. So here it is "It is not the book" Now that being said some movies capture the essence of a book. This is not one of them. Some movies have characters that look or at least act like the book. This is not one of those movies. Some moves stick to the story line and do not adlib for dramatic sake. Again this is not one of those movies.
So now we know what it is not. What is it? This movie is stilted and more like an adaptation from a play. Forgetting about the book stuff, the characters work O.K. With the exception of Sean Pen who looks more like a bum with a bad rug on his head. He distracts from the character that he is supposed to be playing. Some movies are paced slowly to give you time to absorb the flavor of the location and people. This movie is just paced slowly. I will not tell you of the disappointing conclusion other than to say ... You guessed it. It is not like the book.