Watch Up at the Villa For Free

i must have seen a different film!!

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Blistering performances.

It's the late 1930s around Florence. Sir Edgar Swift (James Fox) is the distinguished governor of Bengal who has come to court the widow Mary Panton (Kristin Scott Thomas). She loved her husband as he turned into a drunken gambler who squandered all of their money. Sir Swift proposes to her and she promises an answer upon his return. He leaves her with a gun as he fears a deteriorating security situation. She is hounded by Lucky Leadbetter (Derek Jacobi) who is after fresh-faced English young men. Princess San Ferdinando (Anne Bancroft) is a woman who had many flings and lots of connections. She introduces Mary to playboy Rowley Flint (Sean Penn) at a dinner party. Italian fascist Beppino Leopardi doesn't like Rowley. She rejects Rowley's advances and kicks him out of her car. She almost runs over Karl Richter (Jeremy Davies) who was a bad musician at the party. He's a refugee escaping the Nazis after organizing resistance as a student in Austria. She invites him back to her villa and they spend the night together. Leopardi imposes new restrictions on the foreign presence. Karl becomes unruly and Mary pulls out the gun. Karl takes it away and shoots himself with it. Rowley helps her dispose of the body.Sean Penn somehow doesn't fit this time and this story. He never disappears into this role. He sticks out in this period piece like a sore thumb. Also the story lacks tension. There is some limited tension with Leopardi but that's resolved well before the end. The romance doesn't have any intensity. This should be a lot better. I do like Jeremy Davies' performance in a minor role.

I was stunned by Kristin Scott Thomas when I first saw her in The Tenth Man (co-starring with Derek Jacobi in that movie too) many years ago. I've tried to catch as many movies with her as possible since then, but she's just never been as good, not even in The English Patient. Much of her material has been extremely dull, incl. Random Hearts and yes, this one, Up At the Villa. The premise of this movie isn't bad, but for some reason it fails to create that engrossing magic that makes all the difference. Kristin's character is too timid and irrational (except for in the end). Jeremy Davies as the poor refugee is not exactly bad, but there's still something totally wrong with his role.Bancroft is flawless, but can't save the movie. Sean Penn is actually good. I don't like most of his roles in other movies - never have -, but he played a different, more complex and realistic yet rogue-ish character here than the hysterical ones he usually embraces (for God knows what reason), and I thought this actually worked. Still, his and Kristin's characters were just too different to make their romantic tension really believable.I will give the movie credit for its entire political dimension, though, which wasn't in the original book that this movie is based on. It's rare to see this; in most cases it's the film that leaves out the book's political content.I rate this movie a 5 out of 10.

Well, after reading several comments, it has become more than apparent to me that the majority didn't like it, especially Sean Penn's role. I, for one, enjoyed the film. Perhaps it's not the best movie ever made, perhaps it's not Penn's greatest performance, I'll give you that. However, I thought the movie was fun, enjoyable to watch. I suppose I wasn't looking for an Oscar candidate when I picked it up because the premise of the movie itself doesn't lend itself the traditonal epics or emotional dramas that are favored by the Academy. Mysteries are a favorite of mine and so the plot kept me interested and, to another point, I thought Sean Penn's performance was wonderful considering the role. Yes, it was understated which I found wonderful, and yes, after a momentary pause to think, the romantic relationship between Kristin Scott Thomas and Sean Penn seemed a bit odd, they don't seem to fit well together in that context. However, I thought the movie was all around just fun and Sean Penn is so utterably watchable in this movie and so charming and seductive that I would've followed him to the ends of the earth, guarantees or not

Not enough action, not enough excitement, no explosions, blah blah...This seems to be common complaint amongst previous comments on this film. To which I say "so what". Must every film be a 'major Hollywood event" or "cinematic experience"? This film featured good performance from a fine cast and was well worth spending two hours over. It is also good to see cinematic attention given to Somerset Maugham's work.Kristen Scott Thomas and Sean Penn held the limelight throughout, and that's no bad thing. I'll be honest, I could watch KST standing still for two hours and still be enthralled, and her performance here is radiant. Sean Penn also delivers an understated, and underrated, version of playboy Rolly Flint. Combine glorious backdrops and a good supporting cast, and what's to complain about?