Up at the Villa
Following
the death of her husband, a British widow (Thomas) stays at a villa in Florence,
Italy, in 1938 and soon becomes involved with political intrigue and romance,
involving an American (Penn). Based upon the novella by Somerset Maugham (The
Razor's Edge, Of Human Bondage).
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for thematic elements)
Distributor: USA Films
Cast: Kristin Scott Thomas, Sean Penn, Anne Bancroft, Jeremy Davies, James Fox, Derek Jacobi
Director: Phillip Haas (Angels and Insects, The Blood Oranges, The Music of Chance
Reviews
Phoebe Flowers, Miami Herald
"Up at the Villa is a refined, tasteful film about pure, hard lust."Bill Gallo, New Times Los Angeles
"Drenched in overheated romance, decadence, and lightweight political intrigue, Up at the Villa clanks along for almost two hours."Mike Clark, USA Today
"For novelty value, you can do worse than seeing Sean Penn in a rare chance to don evening-wear on screen, but this isn't a sight to sustain a two-hour haul."IndieWIRE
"Not even Sean Penn can save dialogue like: "Marry your aging empire builder and be damned!" or "I'm a good-time guy. I could never give you a guarantee."
