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.
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.