A Month by the Lake
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Movie Reviews of A Month by the Lake
Movie Review: Lake Como
Summary: 5 Stars
A wonderul romantic comedy set in summer prior to WWII. Starring Vanessa Redgrave & Uma Thurman. The scenery and cinematography are simply beautiful, an Older Girlie Flick.Movie Review: SPECTACULAR ,SCENERY
Summary: 5 Stars
A VERY WELL ACTED MOVIE, THURMAN IS VERY GOOD IN THIS. THE OUTFITS AND CARS FIT THE PERIOD TO A TEE. THE SCENERY IS QUITE GRAND, IT WANTS TO MAKE YOU GO AND VISIT THAT LOCATION.Movie Review: DELIVERY: Fast and
Summary: 5 Stars
Product delivered quickly and in good order, DVD one of my favourite, gift for a friendMovie Review: Picturesque Period Romance with Redgrave in Rare, Breezy Form
Summary: 4 Stars
Since George Clooney and his rat pack seem to be bringing back a certain cachet to Italy's Lake Como, it's worth revisiting this picture-postcard pretty 1995 romantic comedy directed by John Irvin since it is set there before the onset of WWII. The lightweight plot focuses on a beautiful, elegant villa in the summer of 1937 where Miss Bentley has already spent sixteen summers with her father. Adored by the staff, she spends her first summer there after her father has died, and on her first day, she is immediately drawn to the polite but rather pompous Major Wilshaw. In typical movie-only fashion, they meet repeatedly, awkwardly and fractiously, in particular, over a tennis match where she defeats the major with ease in front of a most enthusiastic group. There is unavoidable but unspoken chemistry between the two, but further complications ensue with the arrival of Miss Beaumont, the young, flirtatious nanny of a wealthy Italian family staying at the villa. Miss Beaumont manages to convince Wilshaw that she loves him, and he becomes instantly enamored. On her side, Miss Bentley attracts the attention of a much younger admirer named Vittorio, a local Vespa-riding lothario intent on seducing her amid his raging hormones.
As you can imagine, the complications sort themselves out, but the clever way that Irvin and screenwriter Trevor Bentham handle the story, while patently old-fashioned, is also charming and sometimes quite perceptive about how more mature people approach love. In a rare comedic turn that immediately recalls Kate Hepburn circa 1955's "Summertime", Vanessa Redgrave redefines any preconceived image one would have of a spinster, as she brings buoyant energy and a blessed lack of self-consciousness to the independent Miss Bentley. Even though she makes no attempt at assimilating into the period with her most contemporary look, she shows off a deft skill for romantic foreplay for likely the first time since she was a mod swinger in the 1960's with movies like "Morgan!". Her athleticism is also impressive whether on the tennis court or in the lake swimming the backstroke, though her rather androgynous look wouldn't seem like it would attract the not altogether unwelcome attentions of horny Italian boys.
The other points of the triangle are not as fully drawn. Edward Fox plays the major with a stiff upper lip and glowers appropriately in every scene where he loses his dignity - which is often. Fresh off "Pulp Fiction", Uma Thurman plays a man-eating vamp in broad strokes, and her constant delight in humiliating the major gets tiresome. Her beauty, however, is inarguable and Wilshaw's obsession understandable. There is some intriguing casting on the sidelines - as the moony Vittorio, Alessandro Gassman (son of actor Vittorio Gassman) would play the viral maniac in "Transporter 2" a decade later; and the proprietress of the villa, Signora Fascioli, is played by Alida Valli a mere 46 years after her seductive turn as Harry Lime's lover Anna in Carol Reed's "The Third Man" (sadly and coincidentally she passed away today!). The beauty of Lake Como is captured in all its shimmering light by cinematographer Pasqualino De Santis, and Nicola Piovani's music score provides the right evocative flavor for the period. It's a sweet, entertaining movie, brief at 91 minutes, and definitely for viewers fond of travelogue movies like Mike Newell's "Enchanted April" and Audrey Wells' "Under the Tuscan Sun". The 2003 DVD has no extras.
Movie Review: A Charming Romantic Comedy About Flirtation, With Vanessa Redgrave And Edward Fox
Summary: 4 Stars
This sweet-natured romantic comedy found only a limited audience when it came out, probably because it's the story of two middle-aged people who find themselves improbably drawn to each other.
Miss Bentley (Vanessa Redgrave), a woman of a certain age, has returned for a month to a resort villa on the shores of Lake Como where she and her father had spent summers for 16 years. With talk of war (it's 1937), there are no other English; the guests are Italian and two American ladies. But then Major Wilshaw (Edward Fox) checks in, a confident, charming man who carries two tennis racquets should he find someone up for a game. Both Miss Bentley and Major Wilshaw are English to the core, with a certain eccentric reserve and respect for good manners. However, we note that Major Wilshaw wears his old hat at a rakish angle and Miss Bentley takes photographs and is not above a bit of angling around the conventions. Miss Bentley is drawn to the major, and the major is intrigued by Miss Bentley...but then Miss Beaumont (Uma Thurman), the young nanny for a wealthy Italian couple with two young daughters also staying at the villa, arrives. Miss Beaumont lives for the moment and finds stringing along males to be quite fun. The poor major, his vanity appealed to, believes Miss Beaumont may really be attracted to him. Miss Bentley, her eye on the major, is willing to go only so far in saving his ego for him. Eventually, after being made something of a fool, the major realizes how close he came to throwing away someone he values. Miss Bentley realizes that she needs to help the major more than he realizes. And Miss Beaumont, discharged for being a rather poor nanny, decides to make friends with the attractive and wealthy son of parents who own at least four homes in Venezia.
This movie works so well because of the charm and acting skills of Vanessa Redgrave and Edward Fox. The gorgeous scenery around Lake Como doesn't hurt, either. Redgrave's Miss Bentley is a tall woman and a bit awkward. She's friendly, a little self-conscious, but she also breaks through conventions when she finds someone interesting. Edward Fox as Major Wilshaw is such a charmer, but he's also much more conventional than Miss Bentley. He can fool himself, he can take himself a bit too seriously, he can lose his temper. The tennis match between the two, which Miss Bentley wins, is a beautiful comic episode with two fine actors that sets their characters with precision and affection. If you look closely, you'll see Alida Valli, so fine in The Third Man nearly 50 years earlier, as the proprietor of the villa. You won't recognize her but she's still a class actress.
A Month by the Lake is a satisfying, stylish film about flirtation. If you enjoy it, the director, John Irvin, made two other movies you might also like, Turtle Diary and Widow's Peak. The DVD picture may be a bit soft but otherwise looks just fine. There are no significant extras.