ÉVALUATION IMDb
6,0/10
2,9 k
MA NOTE
Ajouter une intrigue dans votre langueA widow finds choosing a new husband might not be her choice at all, as the actions of her various prospects confine her freedom.A widow finds choosing a new husband might not be her choice at all, as the actions of her various prospects confine her freedom.A widow finds choosing a new husband might not be her choice at all, as the actions of her various prospects confine her freedom.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
Ann Bell
- Beryl Bryson
- (as Anne Bell)
Avis en vedette
My summary above, just about sums my opinion up. This is based on a W.Somerset Maugham novella, If so the writers sure did not make it seem like any Maugham story I ever read. The first 3/4 hours are Ok & seem like a Maugham story then it goes downhill fast into melodrama, with all the required overacting dramatics that this well known cast can muster. Kristin Scott Thomas is the lead,(cross between Bette Davis & Gene Tierney) Sean Penn is a charming gigolo type & very subdued & with a very strange accent,(at least it is understandable. Jeremy Davies is a young refugee who sets off all the ensuing drama, with a bad accent. Anne Bancroft overacts as usual as the countess who knows all the secrets. James Fox is a usual a pompous --- cant he play anything else.
If you like beautiful scenery & sets, see this otherwise, give it a pass, My rating is **1/2
as always
jay harris
If you like beautiful scenery & sets, see this otherwise, give it a pass, My rating is **1/2
as always
jay harris
I was stunned by Kristin Scott Thomas when I first saw her in The Tenth Man (co-starring with Derek Jacobi in that movie too) many years ago. I've tried to catch as many movies with her as possible since then, but she's just never been as good, not even in The English Patient. Much of her material has been extremely dull, incl. Random Hearts and yes, this one, Up At the Villa. The premise of this movie isn't bad, but for some reason it fails to create that engrossing magic that makes all the difference. Kristin's character is too timid and irrational (except for in the end). Jeremy Davies as the poor refugee is not exactly bad, but there's still something totally wrong with his role.
Bancroft is flawless, but can't save the movie. Sean Penn is actually good. I don't like most of his roles in other movies - never have -, but he played a different, more complex and realistic yet rogue-ish character here than the hysterical ones he usually embraces (for God knows what reason), and I thought this actually worked. Still, his and Kristin's characters were just too different to make their romantic tension really believable.
I will give the movie credit for its entire political dimension, though, which wasn't in the original book that this movie is based on. It's rare to see this; in most cases it's the film that leaves out the book's political content.
I rate this movie a 5 out of 10.
Bancroft is flawless, but can't save the movie. Sean Penn is actually good. I don't like most of his roles in other movies - never have -, but he played a different, more complex and realistic yet rogue-ish character here than the hysterical ones he usually embraces (for God knows what reason), and I thought this actually worked. Still, his and Kristin's characters were just too different to make their romantic tension really believable.
I will give the movie credit for its entire political dimension, though, which wasn't in the original book that this movie is based on. It's rare to see this; in most cases it's the film that leaves out the book's political content.
I rate this movie a 5 out of 10.
I was intrigued when this film showed up on the day's TV roster and even more intrigued when I found out who the cast are and read a quick synopsis of the story. Most of the reviewers here, at IMDB, have made the movie sound dreadful. I found it hard to believe that anything with Sean Penn and Kristin Scott Thomas would be awful and had to check out the film for myself. My conclusion -- it is quite good, engaging, and definitely worth watching.
The lead actors as well as most of the supporting cast are rather wonderful. Though, I wish that someone slightly more dashing and not so limp played the role of the Austrian student, even if the stumbling manner and sudden onset of neurosis are required of the part. The scenery is inviting; the sets are great; the variety of accents is interesting; some of the extras are a bit shaky. The film is not so much about the setting, the era, or the social/political/economic spheres, though all of these have a firm bearing on the events and characters. It is chiefly about human actions under pressure of circumstances, about relationships, flights of fancy, slip-ups, weaknesses, trust and emotional maneuvering. "Up at the Villa" addresses these topics as good as any other period film.
I recommend this movie to those who, like I, enjoyed more than one of the following:
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Gosford Park
Howards End
Country Life
The Wings of the Dove
A Room with a View
The Remains of the Day
The lead actors as well as most of the supporting cast are rather wonderful. Though, I wish that someone slightly more dashing and not so limp played the role of the Austrian student, even if the stumbling manner and sudden onset of neurosis are required of the part. The scenery is inviting; the sets are great; the variety of accents is interesting; some of the extras are a bit shaky. The film is not so much about the setting, the era, or the social/political/economic spheres, though all of these have a firm bearing on the events and characters. It is chiefly about human actions under pressure of circumstances, about relationships, flights of fancy, slip-ups, weaknesses, trust and emotional maneuvering. "Up at the Villa" addresses these topics as good as any other period film.
I recommend this movie to those who, like I, enjoyed more than one of the following:
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Gosford Park
Howards End
Country Life
The Wings of the Dove
A Room with a View
The Remains of the Day
As novelist, W. Somerset Maugham tends to be somewhat uninspiring; his short stories - frequently rather long - are better, and his essays run the whole gamut from the almost trivial to the almost philosophical. As a writer he is a long long way from novelists like Henry James, Joseph Conrad and Aldous Huxley: his characterization is shallow, unreal, such that wherever he sets his scenes - Pago Pago, Firenze or uptown London - one does not connect too well with the tale in question, which, often, fills one with a feeling akin to dejà vu: one has seen variations on the theme in previous writings of his. Maugham, then, is very much a one-horse matter, and in most cases, with the passing of time, his stories have become rather insipid.
So has 'Up at the Villa'. Even the wonderful Anne Bancroft could do little to rescue this film from being a rather colourless account of well-to-do stiff-upper-lip British people hanging out in Florence on the eve of the Second World War. The dialogues are stiff, wooden, lending much lacklustre to the proceedings and is clearly visible in the performances offered by what, on paper, is a solid cast. But one could not really care whether Kristin Scott Thomas finally made it with Sean Penn, James Fox, or the wretched violinist Jeremy Davies. This last named started off really well, but finally sank into the abjectedness which pervades this film, especially in the second half. The result is a very quaint outdated and outmoded behavioural incursion which ends up being almost farcical, as well as overblown and tedious.
No, this is not in any way comparable to 'Gosford Park' (qv) which is magnificent, again with Ms Scott Thomas, far superior with at once more depth and scintillating dialogues. Given the range of Maugham's writing, no way was this film ever to become comparable with 'Portrait of a Lady' (qv), say, 'The Hours' (qv), say, or even the powerful and majestic TV-mini 'Nostromo' (qv). However, 'Up at the Villa' does serve as a pointer inasmuch as it may show in which direction serious attempts at character-driven or dialogue-driven films may be heading, whether period pieces or not.
Nice photography in the Italian countryside, and am wondering if part of the film was in fact shot further north of Florence, maybe even in the Lombardy region.
So has 'Up at the Villa'. Even the wonderful Anne Bancroft could do little to rescue this film from being a rather colourless account of well-to-do stiff-upper-lip British people hanging out in Florence on the eve of the Second World War. The dialogues are stiff, wooden, lending much lacklustre to the proceedings and is clearly visible in the performances offered by what, on paper, is a solid cast. But one could not really care whether Kristin Scott Thomas finally made it with Sean Penn, James Fox, or the wretched violinist Jeremy Davies. This last named started off really well, but finally sank into the abjectedness which pervades this film, especially in the second half. The result is a very quaint outdated and outmoded behavioural incursion which ends up being almost farcical, as well as overblown and tedious.
No, this is not in any way comparable to 'Gosford Park' (qv) which is magnificent, again with Ms Scott Thomas, far superior with at once more depth and scintillating dialogues. Given the range of Maugham's writing, no way was this film ever to become comparable with 'Portrait of a Lady' (qv), say, 'The Hours' (qv), say, or even the powerful and majestic TV-mini 'Nostromo' (qv). However, 'Up at the Villa' does serve as a pointer inasmuch as it may show in which direction serious attempts at character-driven or dialogue-driven films may be heading, whether period pieces or not.
Nice photography in the Italian countryside, and am wondering if part of the film was in fact shot further north of Florence, maybe even in the Lombardy region.
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.
Le saviez-vous
- AnecdotesThe novella was first optioned back in 1940. It took sixty years to reach the screen.
- GaffesWhen Anne Bancroft's character is reclining in the chaise lounge, the level of her drink goes from nearly full to nearly empty and back to nearly full in different shots while she is drinking it.
- Bandes originalesSchatz-Walzer
Composzed by Johann Strauss
Meilleurs choix
Connectez-vous pour évaluer et surveiller les recommandations personnalisées
- How long is Up at the Villa?Propulsé par Alexa
Détails
- Date de sortie
- Pays d’origine
- Langue
- Aussi connu sous le nom de
- Up at the Villa
- Lieux de tournage
- sociétés de production
- Consultez plus de crédits d'entreprise sur IMDbPro
Box-office
- Brut – États-Unis et Canada
- 2 933 161 $ US
- Fin de semaine d'ouverture – États-Unis et Canada
- 339 819 $ US
- 7 mai 2000
- Brut – à l'échelle mondiale
- 3 740 113 $ US
- Durée1 heure 55 minutes
- Couleur
- Mixage
- Rapport de forme
- 1.85 : 1
Contribuer à cette page
Suggérer une modification ou ajouter du contenu manquant
Lacune principale
By what name was Il suffit d'une nuit (2000) officially released in Canada in English?
Répondre