Up at the Villa (2000)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Philip Haas

Writers (WGA):

W. Somerset Maugham (book)
Belinda Haas (screenplay)

Release Date:

5 May 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Danger is the ultimate attraction.

Plot:

Superficial people are revealed and drastically changed by circumstance or luck in this a tale of death...

Plot Keywords:

Period Piece | Based On Book | Based On Novel | Independent Film

Cast

Kristin Scott Thomas	...	Mary Panton
Sean Penn	...	Rowley Flint
Anne Bancroft	...	Princess San Ferdinando
James Fox	...	Sir Edgar Swift
Jeremy Davies	...	Karl Richter
Derek Jacobi	...	Lucky Leadbetter
Massimo Ghini	...	Beppino Leopardi
Dudley Sutton	...	Harold Atkinson
Lorenza Indovina	...	Nina
Roger Hammond	...	Colin Mackenzie
Clive Merrison	...	Archibald Grey
Linda Spurrier	...	Hilda Grey
Ben Aris	...	Col. Trail
Anne Ridler	...	Lady Trail
Ann Bell	...	Beryl Bryson (as Anne Bell)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements.

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:12 | Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:7 | USA:PG-13

Company:

Intermedia Films

Goofs:

Continuity: When 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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Amores Possíveis (2001)

Soundtrack:

Schatz-Walzer

Beautiful sets & music, weak script, so-so acting

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