Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
A Month by the Lake (1994)
Director: John Irvin
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Adapted from a romantic interlude by HE Bates, this is so flat and passionless that, without the warm glow of the cinematography and the deliriously romantic Italian settings, it would almost certainly have been consigned to video. Lake Como, 1939. Miss Bentley (Redgrave) is holidaying with her Italian friends on the shore of her favourite lake. Lonely and bored, she soon perks up when she notices the rugged looks of the only other English visitor present, Fox's starchy Major Wilshaw. The two meet, chat, play tennis, and romance might have blossomed, were it not for the arrival of fickle, flirtatious American nanny Miss Beaumont (Thurman, twitchy). Still, even though Miss Bentley feels rejected by the major's lack of interest in her, she's chuffed when she in turn attracts the attention of local youth Vittorio (Gassman). Thus unfolds a four-way tangle, age difference the theme. This day-by-day account of month-long holiday romances does not fit comfortably into 91 minutes, and after the fourth al fresco breakfast, your eyes wander past the characters to focus on the views behind.Author: DA
User reviews of this film
-
- B.J. ALEXANDER said...
- Posted on Feb 24 2008 22:19 I do not recall seeing Alida Valli in this film. If she did appear in this film I'd like to know what her role was.
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: John Irvin
Producer: Robert Fox
Cast: Vanessa Redgrave, Edward Fox, Uma Thurman, Alida Valli, Carlo Cartier, Alessandro Gassman, Natalia Bizzi full cast
Genre(s): Period/Swashbucklers
Duration: 91 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Review: Penélope Cruz more raunchy than ever in 'Nine'
Dave Calhoun reports on Rob Marshall's Oscar-touted musical with Daniel Day-Lewis playing a troubled director
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Jim Jarmusch on 'The Limits of Control'
Jim Jarmusch has followed ‘Broken Flowers’ with an esoteric crime mystery. Dave Calhoun speaks to him from his New York office
Richard Linklater on 'Me and Orson Welles'
Dave Calhoun meets the 49-year-old, Houston-born filmmaker Richard Linklater to discuss his new comedy
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations












What do you think?
Post your review now