My review was written in May 1982 after a Manhattan UES screening:
"Silhouettes" is a light romantic film spotlighting the music and acting debut of lyricist-composer George David Weiss. With Weiss's thesping and a weak script as major liabilities, pic never gets off.
Slim plotline, suffering from lack of conflict or interesting development, concerns an American expatriate songwriter (Weiss) living in Sorrento who falls in love with a beautiful young art student (Susan Monts). Romance progresses but she won't marry him, with vague references to "my career" as the reason, leading to an arbitrary, bittersweet conclusion.
Filmmakers' argument, repeated ad infinitum, concerns the usurpation of traditional music and art by unschooled "modern" forms. In the case of Weiss's music, his character's frequent railing against the Rolling Stones and other rock groups is obviously 20 years out of date as a topical issue. Similarly, helmer Giuseppe Murolo's pretty travelog views of Sorrento and Capri belong to a type of film that worked in the '50s and '60s but won't attract ticket buyers today. Script also lacks the sentimental excesses (no children appear, for example) which might go over in foreign markets.
Monts is an attractive, empathetic heroine, though stuck playing her scenes opposite eager to please but amateurish Weiss. Roberto D'Ettore Piazzoli's lensing offers beautiful views of cast and surroundings. Pic concludes with its best shot, the lovely title song, given a modern arrangement as a synthesis of the pro and con arguments expressed regarding music.
