Customer Reviews

Up at the Villa

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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!

A sumptuously filmed, delightfully old-fashioned, but ultimately rather insubstantial adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's novella of the same name. Mary Panton (Kristin Scott Thomas) must decide: does she play it safe and marry a stuffy Englishman (James Fox) for position and security, or does she follow her heart and take up with a charming but feckless married American playboy (Sean Penn)? A few days of melodrama involving sex, suicide and the menace of Italian fascism help make up her mind. The performances from Scott Thomas and Penn are solid, with Anne Bancroft, Derek Jacobi and Massimo Ghini delighting in minor roles, though Jeremy Davies is less convincing as an Austrian peasant. It's probably worth seeing just for Maurizio Calvesi's cinematography and Paul Brown's production design - the lavish villa and the ripening tomatoes at the tennis club are a treat. But highest honors surely belong to special make-up artist Joan Giacomin who transforms the talented but rather rough-headed Sean Penn into a veritable `40s matinée idol. Penn continues to shine, in roles like this one, with remarkable versatility.

Despite some quality elements, foremost among them a lovely performance by Kristin Scott Thomas, `Up at the Villa' emerges as a fairly dull, ultimately unsatisfying tale of stiff-upper-lipped romance played against a wartime backdrop. In a way the film serves as something of a companion period piece to the recent `Tea With Mussolini' since both films involve wealthy American expatriates living and flourishing in Italy in the days leading up to the Second World War.

Thomas stars as Mary, a young British widow who, while she is occupying a Florentine villa, finds herself the object of romantic overtures by an assortment of men including a wealthy but married American man, Rowley Flint (Sean Penn), and a penniless Viennese refuge (Jeremy Davies) with whom she has a one night stand. Shattered by her rejection the next night, the latter commits suicide in front of the distraught woman and it is in the attempt to cover up the incident with the help of Rowley that the film's few moments of genuine drama can be found. One of the problems with the story, based on a Somerset Maugham novella, is that, although Mary comes across as a sympathetic and often even a complex character at times - she is a caring, well-intentioned woman whose pampered existence leaves her unsuited for confronting the harshness of much of the world around her - the men whom she involves herself with emerge as both incredible and shallow. Penn seems particularly miscast in a role that calls for debonair subtlety when all he seems to be able to provide is insipid callowness. Indeed, rarely has a pair of screen lovers conveyed less dynamic chemistry than this one does here. Anne Bancroft provides dramatic intensity in her stereotypical role of the aging grand dame, but unfortunately, she doesn't get the screen time one would have liked seen accorded either her or her character.

The film is indeed stunning to look at, filled with views of beautiful Florentine architecture and the lush Italian countryside, but the look of the movie is not enough to distract us from the overall languid pacing, the undramatic exposition, and the lightweight histrionics of Mr. Penn. As a result of such unequal pairing, Kristin Scott Thomas seems almost as if she is occupying this film alone for long stretches of time. Considering the utter richness and beauty of her performance that may not be such a bad thing overall - but `Up at the Villa' provides her with precious little support all the way around. **1/2

I am used to having Sean Penn, Kristin Scott-Thomas and Anne Bancroft completely knock me out in their screen roles. However, I'm also well accustomed to not being one of writer Somerset Maugham's fans. His writing bores me to death on the written page. The era of this work should have inspired impassioned writing. It takes place right before the Fascists take over Europe, before the outbreak of WWII, in Florence, Italy. Since it is Maugham's writing though, it always verges on the strained. Nevertheless, the actors give it all they've got and there is a good night's home viewing for you here. Scott-Thomas's character is attracted to security in the form of possibly marrying a real dullard of an older suitor. Actor Fox seems to embody my idea of Maugham himself as that stuffed shirt. Scott-Thomas is also attracted to adventure and danger in the form of a married man, Penn, and a penniless Austrian refugee. Advising her throughout is Bancroft, who married for money, not love, and now enjoys her well-heeled and titled widowhood. Who does Scott-Thomas choose and what are the problems along the way? You'll have to watch it to find out. My only regret is that these actors didn't have five star material at their disposal. The way hubby put it was, "Well, I guess you can't expect 'The English Patient' or 'Dead Man Walking' every time out." Indeed.

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.

UP AT THE VILLA received a rather lukewarm acceptance at the box office when it appeared in 2000. One of the advantages f DVD and of On Demand television viewing schedules is that we are offered a second, less than prejudiced look at a film that holds up rather well with age. W. Somerset Maugham's story is adapted for the screen by Belinda Haas and directed by Philip Hass and t proves to be a rather credible tale of the British and American outlooks on love and life all in the setting of pre-WW II Italy. There are flaws in the film, but it is the opportunity to see the radiant Kristin Scott Thomas deliver a role with such understated and quiet dignity (she now is playing in French films as well) that makes the re-visit worthwhile.

Mary (Scott Thomas) is a penniless well bred woman who has a brief assignation with an Austrian immigrant Karl Richter (Jeremy Davies) that ends in a tragic death. At present Mary is living in a villa in Florence, Italy, the intended of the wealthy Sir Edgar Swift (James Fox) who despite being older than Mary and less ardent in his association with her (he is close to being assigned the Governor of Bengal), offers her a future of ease and means. Mary is counseled by Princess San Ferdinando (Anne Bancroft) to proceed with the planned marriage, but Mary meets American playboy Rowley Flint (Sean Penn) and begins to challenge her own concepts of the forces of physical attraction and independence against those of promised luxury. A bit of intrigue enters to muddy the waters, and all characters become involved in an Italian scandal that represents the tenor of the times: Mary has the good fortune to discover some documents that not only free her from accusations but brings down the Italian officials as well. If this all sounds a bit confusing then it should be noted that the story (and film) are more about human actions under pressure of circumstances, about relationships, flights of fancy, slip-ups, weaknesses, trust and emotional maneuvering than a simple straightforward Italian/British/American tale.

The cast is varied - Bancroft gives one of her signature performances, Sean Penn seems out of his element - but the beauty and skill of Kristin Scott Thomas make the film worth savoring. Grady Harp, September 11

One of the worst movies I've seen. No chemistry between Penn and Thomas.
A wooden stick could have acted Sean Penn's part. Maybe it is just the Thomas
character who is so unlikable and not a reflection of her acting but could not stand the fatuous crying. All the stars seemed to be just awaking from a coma.
Yuck!!!!!

Gave it one star because I couldn't get past it. Not worth it.

I had ordered this for a friend and I knew it was used but nowhere did it say VHS Tape and I assumed it was a DVD! I will be contacting them to talk about this mix up! Otherwise very prompt service and fast!

Although I am no fan of Sean Penn, I found UP AT THE VILLA an interesting and well executed story. The protagonist is played by Kirsten Scott-Thomas, who demonstrates again that her strength lies in her ability to play a relatively honest and forthright woman who manages to get into one compromising situation after another involving fornication. Scott-Thomas' character in VILLA seems to have a penchant for becoming involved with the wrong sort of man, and in spite of her comment that she is not likely to engage in the same foolish acts she committed when she was younger, she does exactly that. Supposedly, she acts as she does in part because of her attraction to Penn's character, although as far as I am concerned there is no chemistry between them at all, so her statement rings hollow. This film is a thriller as opposed to a mystery. The only mystery is how can a woman who is so beautiful and smart do such stupid things? And yet, I cared what happened to her, so as she slipped down the slope, I hoped that somehow she would land on her feet. Whether she does or not is a matter of interpretation.

The setting of the story is a villa belonging to friends where Scott's impoverished character has stayed while she visited nearby Florence, Italy sometime just before the outbreak of hostilities in pre WWII Italy. The set with whom she mixes is composed largely of British ex-pats and a few Americans-comparable to the crowd in TEA WITH MUSSOLINI-although we discover little about any of them except the princess. Anne Bancroft plays the "princess-by-marriage" who has a little dirt on everyone, and she isn't afraid to use it in a crises. This attribute comes in handy because the princess has paperwork in her possession revealing the doings of one of the local officials-paperwork he would just as soon not see land in the hands of the new masters in Rome- those brown-shirt rogues who like order and efficiency and relative honesty in their underlings.