A good adaptation, finally

>> Up at the Villa does W. Somerset Maugham proud

by MATTHEW HAYS

Though people tell me a film critic gig is enviable, most weeks begin with another dreary, boring, mediocre film, the kind of thing most sensible civilians would avoid in the cinemas.

But this week felt like a real treat, as I watched an exquisitely adapted story unfold before me. Up at the Villa is just great, an intelligent and thoughtful film set among the expatriate community in pre-World War II Italy.

Kristin Scott Thomas plays an English widow who lives in a gorgeous villa outside of Tuscany. Low on cash, it seems her best bet is to hunt for a new husband. She's soon got a proposal to ponder; an old friend, played by James Fox, asks for her hand. Though he's a quarter-century older than she is, Thomas is told that she'd be foolish to turn down the offer. Fox leaves town for a week, leaving Thomas time to think about her choices. She's also being wooed by Sean Penn, who plays a philandering playboy type.

The integrity of Maugham's story is preserved by screenwriter Belinda Haas, who keeps his key plot twists intact. The sentimental Thomas takes pity on an inept violinist at a dinner party, and later the two end up in bed together. He returns the next day, thinking theirs is an ongoing love affair. She puts an end to that, trying to be gentle as she lets him down. It's a brutal scene, one that turns violent after she offers him money, culminating with his suicide. The scene is perhaps the finest moment in Thomas's career, as she conjures up a broad range of emotions as things evolve.

Panicked by the surprise suicide and the body in her bedroom, Thomas enlists Penn to help her clean up the mess. No more should be given away, but suffice it to say these actors--and this is a picture-perfect cast that includes Derek Jacobi and Anne Bancroft--savour losing themselves in such a smart, nuanced project.

The success of the film isn't so surprising when one considers its director, Haas, who also directed The Music of Chance from the Paul Auster book. That film was wildly under-appreciated (put it on your to-rent list if you missed it), a stylistically unusual film that was both subtle and graceful. With Up at the Villa, Haas has delivered another worthy film, a genre-defying period film that's neither smug nor Merchant-Ivory stuffy.

Up at the Villa opens Friday, May 5