My House in Umbria (2003)

Just watched this on TV stuffed with unwanted ad breaks which still could not ruin this excellent film. Maggie Smith is tremendous as always and is ably supported by Ronnie Barker who disappears into his character in the way he does when doing comedy , Timothy Spall and the beautiful Emily Clarke who has grown into a gorgeous young woman. The whole thing is held together by a truly beautiful setting in an Italian villa which has made up my mind to visit Italy in the not too distant future. It evokes a feeling of peace and contentment in spite of the violence which throws all these characters together. It seems a great pity that more people are not aware of this wonderful piece of drama and acting by the ensemble cast.

William Trevor's story was complex and involved a train wreck and the adaptation of the inner voice of the principal, Mrs. Emily Delahunty, played magnificently by Maggie Smith, must have been an enormous challenge. Maggie does wondrously in this, both in her speculations on the lives around her and the deep dark secrets of her own past.The plot briefly, is that the survivors of a bomb on a rail carriage come together in Mrs. Delahunty's B&B in the poppy strown fields of Umbria in Italy: A retired widower general (an incredibly touching performance by the comedian Ronnie Barker) who loses his daughter, a German who loses his new love and a little girl who loses her parents.How this oddball mix of people bond so very slowly into a new, loving formation is the crux of the story and the Maguffin is the arrival of the child's estranged uncle, Tom Riversmith (an amazing Chris Cooper) who has never met his niece due to his own family dysfunction.Maggie is amazing as she sometimes lurches around accompanied by a glass of grappa and reveals bits and pieces of her own heart breaking childhood and through the power of the grappa makes come-ons to a cold and aloof John who recoils from her passion and eccentricity. His distaste is palpable.You believe her tenderness for the orphan child. The scenery and house in Umbria are magnificent as is the creation of the English garden.The only weakness was the business about the German and how quickly he disappeared into plot line malfunction, that could have been omitted as by the time he faded I was quite attached to his kindness and consideration to all. Timothy Spall, one of my all time favourites from Mike Leigh films, plays an Irish factotum to Mrs. Delahunty with his own story and possible affair with Mrs. D. in the distant past. The ending diverted from the novella but I agree, the novella's ending was far too bleak and would have twisted the cinematic Umbrian paradise unfavourably. Not for action fans or A-B plot line advocates. A treasure for those who love to read and/or watch adaptations. 9 out of 10. I would see it again.

Too many reviews here and in print misinterpret My House in Umbria as another sweet movie in the Big Scenery genre, too few emphasize the film's essential theme of fictions and illusions. And yet, are they really illusions when you are aware of weaving them? Emily Delahunty has just experienced something absolutely horrific and over the course of the film, we learn too of her early losses and calamities. Somewhere along the line, she chose happiness; in fact, she chooses it time and again. Her foil in the movie is the Chris Cooper character, a cold man whose scientific mind brooks no illusions. She's persistent with him. She wants to draw him out and draw him in, seducing him into her enchanted world view. She may succeed a little. She'll certainly succeed with anyone who mindfully watches this tale unfold. If this is a fairy tale, it's a stunningly contemporary one. We who rise every morning and meet each day's challenges with some enthusiasm, we who continue to love, work and create in a world threatened by terrorism, live this fairy tale too.

This film would immediately appeal to anyone addicted to Maggie Smith and the idyllic Italian countryside of Umbria, but it has unexpected delights to offer in its unassuming, almost art-house, flavour, and the low-key, but affecting, performances of excellent actors Timothy Spall and Ronnie Barker. Chris Cooper is rather wooden, but his academic, unemotional character casts a strong contrast to the hapless vagaries of Maggie Smith's Emily Delahuntey, and therefore works well.Suspension of disbelief is required for the over-imaginative plot, almost out of one of Emily's romance novels. But the pleasure of such a film is simple, and simple pleasures can entertain as much as the richer, more complex enjoyment of films it might be compared with such as 'Tea With Mussolini' (which, of course, is a much fuller film in terms of plot, characters, script, and drama). 'Enchanted April' also comes to mind as another film where the Italian countryside is almost a character of the film and much more than a backdrop.A very pleasant interlude for a winter's afternoon, or Spring evening, and Maggie Smith is as mannered and original as ever. I especially loved her flowing clothes, which suited her and her character very well.