By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.9 cats
Director: Woody Allen
Starring: Alec Baldwin | Allison Pill | Ellen Page | Jesse Eisenberg | Judy Davis | Roberto Begnini | Woody Allen
Country: italy, spain, united_states
Year: 2012
Running time: 112
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1859650/
Michael says: “Woody Allen keeps tricking me. I really haven’t seen a Woody Allen film that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed in the new millennium. Arguably, the last film of his that worked for me was CELEBRITY back in 1998 (and many people probably wouldn’t agree with me on that one!) But I still catch many of his films because of the actors who appear in them. His latest film, TO ROME WITH LOVE was not interesting to me at all… until I saw that Ellen Page was in it, and that he was bringing Judy Davis back onto the big screen (her last American theatrical releases were THE BREAK-UP and MARIE ANTOINETTE back in 1996!) Well, I was duped. TO ROME WITH LOVE was pretty unsatisfying, despite some moments of fun and a couple of nice performances.
“The film basically follows four unrelated stories through the city of Rome. They are packaged together poorly by a traffic cop who addresses the audience and explains that from his vantage point he sees everything that goes on in the city… all the magical stories, etc. It’s a thin plot device, but at first it doesn’t matter, because the stories, at first, are interesting and draw you in. The stories are quite different: a nostalgic look at a passion unfulfilled; a cautionary tale about the nature of celebrity; an amusing look at naivety and innocence; and a somewhat ridiculous story right out ‘The Flintstones.” What they share, in my opinion, is a bunch of weak resolutions. It was as if Woody came up with some interesting premises, but petered out as he went along. The movie as a whole ends with an awkward coda, returning to our traffic cop for a platitude or two before the screen fades to black.
“It’s not all bad. Ellen Page brings a fresh, dynamic presence to her role as the femme fatale, Monica. Alec Baldwin brings a slightly different energy to a Woody Allen film. Woody himself is fairly amusing, finally playing his age as a man having difficulty reconciling with his retirement. Sadly, Judy Davis, always a joy, is largely wasted here as Allen’s wife, but not allowed to be his foil. Also nice to see Italian actress Ornella Muti, who I adored in Lucas Belvaux’s TRILOGY, in a very brief role.
“So, I’m sure Woody will continue to trick me into seeing his films by casting interesting actors, but my expectations are now so low that the disappointment I invariably come away with is never a surprise. 2 cats”
Jason
says: “I’m not saying Woody Allen is exactly running a scam in his golden years, but he has worked out a way to get international financiers to send him to a different beautiful city every year, and all he has to do is produce a movie with a cast of actors drawn by the reputation he has built over decades to work for a fraction of their usual price. And, hey, he’s still got enough of the talent that built that reputation that the result isn’t exactly a disaster.
TO ROME WITH LOVE is a set of four or five stories mostly connected by being set in the Eternal City: In one thread, Tourist Hayley (Alison Pill) and native Roman lawyer Michelangelo (Flavio Parenti) meet and fall in love, but the story is how her father Jerry (Allen), a retired A&R man, discovers how Michelangelo’s father Giancarlo (Fabio Armiliato) has an incredible singing voice and wants to share it with the world. Elsewhere, opinionated office worker Leopoldo (Roberto Benigni) is suddenly the most famous man in Rome, and the relationship between two American students (Greta Gerwig and Jesse Eisenberg) is threatened by the arrival of her friend Monica (Ellen Page), with a man who had once been in his situation (Alec Baldwin) serving as a chorus. And, finally, newlyweds Antonio (Alessandro Tiberi) and Milly (Alessandra Mastronardi) arrive from the country to work for the family business, but when Milly gets lost, a prostitute (Penelope Cruz) appears in his room and has to take Milly’s place.
“Why is there a call girl in Antonio’s room? Never explained, and it’s not the only place where Allen is fairly vague. Despite the film cross-cutting between stories and not being set apart by title cards or some similar device, FROM ROME WITH LOVE is at heart four smaller movies that have been stitched together, and it causes some problems. Though the various stories have a similar somewhat off-kilter tone, their omissions and quirks seem more exposed when each is effectively stretched to the length of a feature. The switching from one story to another also makes for an odd timeline – one story is apparently playing out over weeks, another over days, and yet another over hours. All seem to finish somewhat anticlimactically, as well, and four finishes of that variety make for a very muted ending.
“Still, the film works a lot more often than you might think given those issues, in part because while Allen is still displaying a tendency to slap the ambitious down, he provides soft landings more often than not. He’s working in the same whimsical, occasionally fantastical mode as last year’s MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, and it provides him a platform for a few good gags. Allen, despite his other recent failings, has always been able to write and tell a joke, and FROM ROME WITH LOVE is peppered with moments that remind the audience of this. They’re quick bits that don’t necessarily need a lot of context (though the broader contexts of the lovely absurdity of fame, difficulty of aging, and inevitability of the eye wandering are clear enough), and as a result work fairly well.
“Having a good cast helps some, too. It’s such a large ensemble with each player plugged into just one story that it’s hard for any to really stand out, but each of the four Allen-surrogates (Tiberi, Eisenberg, Benigni, and Allen himself) does a fine job of taking Woody Allen material and giving it his own voice. Judy Davis and Penelope Cruz make good foils for Allen and Eisenberg, and while Alessandra Mastronardi’s Milly spends a fair amount of time confused and star-struck, she grows into a favorite by the end of the movie. Fabio Armiliato – a tenor in a relatively rare non-opera role – actually does one of the best jobs of presenting a complete, charming character to the audience. The biggest bumps come in the Eisenberg/Page scenes – Alec Baldwin’s sarcasm is too self-aware, an while Page is deliberately cast against type as the femme fatale of the story, she still comes across as the quirky Ellen Page character, an acquired taste rather than an irresistible draw.
“Like many recent Woody Allen movies, this one is moments of classic Woody buried in an average (or somewhat lesser) medium – though with a beautiful backdrop. Allen has paid for his trip, at least, with a movie that’s pleasant enough even if it doesn’t belong with his best. 2.75 cats
“Seen 10 July 2012 in Coolidge Corner Theatre #1 (first-run, 35mm)”
Thom says: “In my dotage Allen has recently risen high once again in my estimation as I’d loved his past 6 films but for a number of reasons this one slipped a few times. While Cruz, Davis, Page, & Gerwig all score convincingly here Allen appearing again in his own film is a presence too ooppressiveto really enjoy. Jesse Eisenberg, while a funny character here, has no versatility as an actor. There are 4 stories in the film that all embrace Rome in one way or another, two a lot more successful than the other two. Rome looks gorgeous and I’m now thinking of adding it to my Italian destinations next Spring. While Baldwin has been overused of late his character as portrayed as Eisenberg’s alter ego is brilliantly handled. 4 cats”