Summer's Lease (1989)
Molly Pargeter is a forty-something wife and mother of three girls, who leads a stable but dull life in 1980s West London. She feels overweight and there is no passion in her relationship with her husband Hugh, who is secretly seeing another woman. For most of her life she has found escape in detective novels and books on art, especially about the fifteenth century Italian fresco painter Piero Della Francesca. Then in a newspaper's small ads Molly sees the details of a villa in Tuscany, Italy to let and after travelling to Italy to view the villa "La Felicita" she decides to take it for the family's August holiday.
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When Molly Pargeter rents a villa in the Italian Tuscan hills, what should be a carefree holiday isn't quite as expected. Her raffish father finagles his way along for the ride, her priggish husband is sending secret postcards to his mistress, and when Molly finds a cryptic note hidden in the villa, she begins to question the whereabouts and well-being of the villa's owners. Nothing is quite what it seems amongst the locals and ex-pat's... and then a body is found.Wonderful adaptation of John Mortimer's novel, full of brilliantly captured performances by a host of British and Italian character actors (Treves and Leach are outstanding) and a star turn by an apparently ailing Gielgud, all mischievous twinkle and cunning. Against this backdrop, Fleetwood cleverly underplays throughout as Molly, a delightful study in self-effacement and quiet tenacity that will eventually lead to catharsis.Although perhaps not for some, the leisurely pacing really adds to the overall atmosphere. A minor British TV classic!
My husband and I were mesmerized when we saw the BBC mini-series and kept checking to see if there was a VHS version, but alas. We are now the very proud and happy owners of a DVD version made available thru Acorn Productions. I ordered our copy thru [email protected] Each time we watch the 4 part series, we pick up more clues. Excellent work by Mr. Mortimer and all of the actors. Unfortunately, the DVD does not give credit to all of the actors. There were bios for some actors, but not all, including Michael Pennington and others who played key roles. But on behalf of the audience -- to all of them -- BRAVO!!!!
I don't need to reiterate anything about this mini series, since all of the previous comments do a good job of giving a thumb-nail sketch of the plot. However, I am willing to beg, borrow or steal a copy of this movie! Does anyone out there have a copy to sell to me??
I can only reiterate the plea of a previous reviewer: This wonderful little mini-series, faithfully rendering one of John Mortimer's quirkier novels, ought to be available on video! It has atmosphere, landscapes, art, history, politics, intrigue, character development, a sympathetic protagonist, comedy, pathos, tragedy... what more could you want? It's a regular little Tuscan antipasto of a mystery story! Well-filmed, well-acted, delightful. The only caveat is that the viewer needs to devote careful attention to the plot development, or you may miss it altogether.