THE BEST OFFER
***
Director: Guiseppe Tornatore
Screenwriter: Guiseppe Tornatore adapted from his story - Deception
Principal cast:
Geoffrey Rush
Donald Sutherland
Sylvia Hoeks
Jim Sturgess
Philip Jackson
Dermot Crowley
Country: Italy
Classification: M
Runtime: 131 mins.
Australian release date: 29 August 2013
It is with great anticipation that many filmgoers will attend Giuseppe Tornatore’s latest film, The Best Offer (La Migliore Offerta), because of the affection in which his 1988 movie, Cinema Paradiso, is held. Australian audiences will be even more curious as it stars ‘our’ very own Geoffrey Rush in the lead role, playing an ageing, fastidious, reserved, cold and complex art connoisseur, who makes a grand living valuing and auctioning antiques and art works. Rush occupies the screen for most of the 131 minutes it takes to complete this rather drawn out but visually splendid film. His performance is as adept as always, but you can’t help feeling that cutting the film by half an hour would have given it even greater impact. Because this is where the major fault of this film lies - it is too damn long. The story gets bogged down and once you figure out what is going on, becomes somewhat repetitive.
Set in a number of glorious Italian locations, each designed to death by Maurizio Sabbatini’s production design, Maurizio Clemente and Andrea Di Palma’s art direction, Rafaella Giovannetti’s set decoration, and dripping Armani from every limb with costume design by Brioni and Maurizio Millenotti, the film is a treat for the eyes but, regrettably, it is not enough to keep you enthralled. Virgil Oldman - interesting choice of surname here - Geoffrey Rush, has a secret business arrangement with a colleague, Billy Whistler (Donald Sutherland), who helps him out during bidding wars in the auction room as Oldman surreptitiously tries to add to his own private collection. When he receives a call from a strange, reclusive young woman, Claire Ibbetson (Sylvia Hoeks), who wants to sell off her deceased parents’ estate, his interest is piqued as it may contain something he desires. Inspecting the collection, housed in a crumbling villa in an indeterminate Italian city, Oldman pockets some rusty old cogs and gears. They are parts from an 18th century mechanical android and, as he acquires more of the missing pieces, he spends many nights perched on a stool while a friend, Robert (Jim Sturgess), puts the automaton together in his workshop.
At the same time, Oldman becomes equally captivated by the mystery surrounding Claire, who seems to suffer from some kind of agoraphobia, and gradually a relationship develops between them. We, the audience, are as baffled as he is for most of the time as the plot thickens and starts to get very messy, driving the fastidious auctioneer to distraction. Once he is granted access to Claire’s private quarters, so to speak, the going gets really intriguing, for both Oldman and us. What is this mysterious woman hiding?
Beautifully captured by Fabio Zamarion’s cinematography and with a grand score by no less than maestro Ennio Morricone, The Best Offer is a film that appeals at a surface level, but in this case, style definitely overrides content. Even though all the performances are fine, especially Rush’s, and with a fairly low-key Sutherland managing to retain his usual slightly malevolent persona, there is not enough here to put it on a par with Tornatore’s previous work. It’s often been said that if you don’t expect, you won’t be disappointed, and, unfortunately, it’s an adage that seems particularly relevant here. Keep it in mind when you see this film.
Screenwriter: Guiseppe Tornatore adapted from his story - Deception
Principal cast:
Geoffrey Rush
Donald Sutherland
Sylvia Hoeks
Jim Sturgess
Philip Jackson
Dermot Crowley
Country: Italy
Classification: M
Runtime: 131 mins.
Australian release date: 29 August 2013
It is with great anticipation that many filmgoers will attend Giuseppe Tornatore’s latest film, The Best Offer (La Migliore Offerta), because of the affection in which his 1988 movie, Cinema Paradiso, is held. Australian audiences will be even more curious as it stars ‘our’ very own Geoffrey Rush in the lead role, playing an ageing, fastidious, reserved, cold and complex art connoisseur, who makes a grand living valuing and auctioning antiques and art works. Rush occupies the screen for most of the 131 minutes it takes to complete this rather drawn out but visually splendid film. His performance is as adept as always, but you can’t help feeling that cutting the film by half an hour would have given it even greater impact. Because this is where the major fault of this film lies - it is too damn long. The story gets bogged down and once you figure out what is going on, becomes somewhat repetitive.
Set in a number of glorious Italian locations, each designed to death by Maurizio Sabbatini’s production design, Maurizio Clemente and Andrea Di Palma’s art direction, Rafaella Giovannetti’s set decoration, and dripping Armani from every limb with costume design by Brioni and Maurizio Millenotti, the film is a treat for the eyes but, regrettably, it is not enough to keep you enthralled. Virgil Oldman - interesting choice of surname here - Geoffrey Rush, has a secret business arrangement with a colleague, Billy Whistler (Donald Sutherland), who helps him out during bidding wars in the auction room as Oldman surreptitiously tries to add to his own private collection. When he receives a call from a strange, reclusive young woman, Claire Ibbetson (Sylvia Hoeks), who wants to sell off her deceased parents’ estate, his interest is piqued as it may contain something he desires. Inspecting the collection, housed in a crumbling villa in an indeterminate Italian city, Oldman pockets some rusty old cogs and gears. They are parts from an 18th century mechanical android and, as he acquires more of the missing pieces, he spends many nights perched on a stool while a friend, Robert (Jim Sturgess), puts the automaton together in his workshop.
At the same time, Oldman becomes equally captivated by the mystery surrounding Claire, who seems to suffer from some kind of agoraphobia, and gradually a relationship develops between them. We, the audience, are as baffled as he is for most of the time as the plot thickens and starts to get very messy, driving the fastidious auctioneer to distraction. Once he is granted access to Claire’s private quarters, so to speak, the going gets really intriguing, for both Oldman and us. What is this mysterious woman hiding?
Beautifully captured by Fabio Zamarion’s cinematography and with a grand score by no less than maestro Ennio Morricone, The Best Offer is a film that appeals at a surface level, but in this case, style definitely overrides content. Even though all the performances are fine, especially Rush’s, and with a fairly low-key Sutherland managing to retain his usual slightly malevolent persona, there is not enough here to put it on a par with Tornatore’s previous work. It’s often been said that if you don’t expect, you won’t be disappointed, and, unfortunately, it’s an adage that seems particularly relevant here. Keep it in mind when you see this film.