An involving drama from Italy, relocated from someplace like Greenwich, CT (the setting of the novel it's based on) to somewhere near Lake Como—no problem there
It takes place during the mini–financial crisis of 1997, and it's one of those slightly tricky movies where the main characters each get a "chapter" to themselves, so the tone can vary from scene to scene.
First, an overeager investor plays up to a slick hedge-fund guy (Fabrizio Gifuni of "The Best of Youth") when their teenage kids start dating; this comes across like a broad Alberto Sordi comedy from the 60s. Next, the hedge-fund guy's regretful wife, a former actress (a great performance by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi), tries to reimagine her past while she tours a derelict theater, a haunting scene that recalls Fellini
Finally, picking up from a trigger event in the opening chapter—a cyclist is run off the road by a speeding SUV—the investor's intense teenage daughter (a great performance by Matilde Gioli) tries to make everything right, and almost succeeds. This "chapter" is played pretty straight, and it moves right along. There's one of those moments where you may ask yourself, "Why would she ?" (the only possible answer being "Because if she didn't, there wouldn't be a movie!"), and the ending may seem a little rushed, but otherwise the pacing's pretty tight, and, unless you're a raving free-marketeer, the social commentary is right on the money. Interesting that movie plots can be outsourced now, along with everything else .
First, an overeager investor plays up to a slick hedge-fund guy (Fabrizio Gifuni of "The Best of Youth") when their teenage kids start dating; this comes across like a broad Alberto Sordi comedy from the 60s. Next, the hedge-fund guy's regretful wife, a former actress (a great performance by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi), tries to reimagine her past while she tours a derelict theater, a haunting scene that recalls Fellini
Finally, picking up from a trigger event in the opening chapter—a cyclist is run off the road by a speeding SUV—the investor's intense teenage daughter (a great performance by Matilde Gioli) tries to make everything right, and almost succeeds. This "chapter" is played pretty straight, and it moves right along. There's one of those moments where you may ask yourself, "Why would she ?" (the only possible answer being "Because if she didn't, there wouldn't be a movie!"), and the ending may seem a little rushed, but otherwise the pacing's pretty tight, and, unless you're a raving free-marketeer, the social commentary is right on the money. Interesting that movie plots can be outsourced now, along with everything else .