My House in Umbria
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Movie Reviews of My House in Umbria
Movie Review: A 5-Star Gem!
Summary: 5 Stars
What a wonderful picture!
Telling an intriguing, nuances story isn't easy; it takes genuine talent and artistic commitment on both sides of the camera.
That commitment to quality comes through loud and clear in listening to the voiceove commentary by the film's director and producer. For them the project was obviously a labor of love.
Some voiceover commentaries are rather flat and self-indulgent; but this one is, in its own way, as good as the movie itself!
The movie includes some of the finest ensemble actors around. The script is economical, lyrical and tightly-written; the casting is spot-on; and the overall mood and ambience of the film speaks movingly to the human condition.
This is the kind of movie that when you're watching it you think of it as "a-movie-that-can-just-as-easily-be-a-play." However, often the pitfall with those kinds of movies is that the movie becomes too staged, too "presentational." But that's not the case here at all. Filmed, for the most part, on location in Italy, the movie takes full advantage of its naturalistic setting.
The movie indicates no specific historical period; but rather springs as much from "inside the head" of the Maggie Smith character as it does from the objective reality of the dialogue.
All this requires a clutch performance by Maggie Smith. But, then again, Maggie Smith is *always* superb. I think of her as the Lou Gehrig, the Iron Horse of acting wizardry. Her presence on screen is magical. There are few actors who guarantee that the movie they're in is worth watching. Maggie Smith is one of them. She knocks in every runner on base.
Her scenes with Chris Cooper should be mandatory viewing for every film student, behind and in front of the camera.
Sure, the film has its flaws; but compare this "little gem of a movie" to the standard bill of fare filmmakers regularly and grindingly produces.
~ Keep knockin' 'em in, Dame Maggie! ~
Movie Review: Maggie Smith rocks
Summary: 5 Stars
Maggie Smith pulls this whole movie together. I have loved this movie for years and finally purchased it at Amazon. Maggie plays an older woman who lives in a beautiful old villa in Umbria, Italy. The story begins as she travels to Milan for her monthly shopping trip. She sits in a compartment with around 9 other people until a bomb explodes and kills everyone in the compartment except a little American girl, an old Englishman, a young German man, and her. While the police are investigating the bombing, the partially recovered travelers go to stay with Maggie's character, Mrs. De La Hanti. The little girl arrives mute, unable to speak because of the trauma of losing her parents in the attack. The German lost his girlfriend and the use of his right hand and the Englishman is grieving for his daughter who died. As the film progresses, you see that Giancarlo Gianini is the investigating policeman and Mrs. De La Hanti is an ex-patriot English romance writer who has been abused in her past. This group of strangers becomes a family of sorts in a matter of weeks and their secrets are uncovered as they begin to understand each other.
I love Maggie Smith's character: vulnerable, flamboyant, abused, and yet able to see the beauty in other people. She has an innocence and imagination that is almost child-like. She is the author of many romance novels and sees stories in the human interactions she observes, interpreting them with an amazing understanding of human nature. The photography is simply beautiful and Italy, of course, is magnificent.
Movie Review: Maggie's Showcase--For Better or Worse
Summary: 5 Stars
Writer Alan Bennett has been quoted as saying that we're "lucky to be living in her time." He was talking about Maggie Smith.
Bennett's observation seems a tad bittersweet. Yes, we're lucky to be living in her time because she's fabulous, but also because, unless we happen to catch her live on the West End stage, we aren't likely to see her in much of a leading part, ever. In fact, the noteworthy films in which this two-time Oscar winner has played the principal role basically consist of this made-for-HBO endeavor and *The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie* (1969).
The upshot is that *My House in Umbria* has a tremendous weight to bear--that of a legendary actress's best screen vehicle in thirty-five years. It seems a little unfair to judge it based on whether it's worthy of such a distinction, and I can't help wondering whether this accounts for some of this rather plotless film's, shall we say, generous critical reviews.
Still, the more times I see it--and it speaks volumes when I'm able to watch a movie more than once--the more I appreciate its leisurely, picturesque style, and the more uplifted I feel by its timely and refreshing theme: that of injured survivors being "set free" by their enjoyment of nature and each other.
And, ultimately, I begin to think of this movie as a vehicle worthy of its star, and as one in the recent string of high-quality HBO films that have been so good I've almost wanted to send the company a fan letter. Go, HBO.
Movie Review: "Random events" and dreams become one woman's key...
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie is so much more than what seems to be on the surface.What appears to be a senseless act of terrorism aboard a train turns into an unraveling of the buried years of heartache,abuse and lack of true love of one Emily Delahunty (though she admits that even this is not her true name).Maggie Smith brings this character to full passionate life and awareness.Emily,for some reason,is at her very best in life when she is caring for others.She is unexpectedly put into this position when a bomb explodes in her train car leaving only herself and three other survivors.Emily has been a writer of "bodice-rippers" and has published many of these fantastical romance novels under many nom-de-plumes.What she encounters in the months of recovery with these three survivors at her villa in Umbria,as well as the continuous nightdreams she has, set her up for the biggest and most important discoveries long buried in her own past.She suffers from guilt and the unraveling of her life will prove to be the redemption of it.
This is one outstanding movie from HBO that needs to be viewed over and over.To be taken in by the breathtaking countryside of Italy and to miss the deep substance of this film would be a tragedy.Though Smith is backed up by a marvelous supporting cast that include Chris Cooper and Timothy Spall,this is her film and she does it as a "Dame" should-masterfully.
Movie Review: Maggie Smith's most delightful role!
Summary: 5 Stars
I rented this film, because I wanted to see Maggie Smith's performance, and the landscapes. I wasn't expecting it to touch me, and I assumed it to be a light comedy like Under The Tuscan Sun Or Tea With Musolini kind of films. It's a simple story of unconditional love and dealing with ones demons and shadows from the past. Maggie Smith did a great job at revealing her character's inner layers and I was very simpathetic towards her, and understood why she was so eccentric and self-absorbing. She's misunderstood by most people except the little girl whom she had connected to in many ways. Ultimately, she uses all her life experiences and pain and the people around her as material for her novels. It's amazing to realize that her character is a real survivor of hardship and struggle. By the time Chris Cooper resent the little girl back to Maggie Smith to live with her in Umbria, the joy and happiness finally eclipsed the past. It was wonderful to see Smith in a wonderful role so opposite from her super-snob role in Gosford Park. I was so touched by the ending scene, and I think this is going to be one of my all time favorite Maggie Smith films.