¨If something is too good to be true, you can
bet it’s not.¨
Woody Allen has been directing at least one
movie every single year for the past thirty years. It was Rome`s turn for 2012
and although it isn’t as good as his previous film, Midnight in Paris, which won
Allen his fourth Oscar for original screenplay, this was still a well written
comedy. I laughed really hard at several scenes and enjoyed the film from start
to finish. The only problem I had with the film was that the editing was a
little choppy in some scenes and the soundtrack was a little annoying, but
beside that the film worked really well thanks to some great performances and a
great script. It was good to see Woody Allen acting again after six years (the
last time was in Scoop) and he is always a charm on camera. I think I`m
enjoying Wordy Allen`s films a lot more now than I did his older ones, although
it probably has to do because I understand him better now. In To Rome with Love
he once again seems to blab about the usual topics such as love, infidelity,
fame, success, and death in a very funny and original way. I am a huge Ellen
Paige fan, so I was excited to see her on a Woody Allen film and she was just
great in the few scenes she shared with Jesse Eisenberg. She never disappoints.
I had some high expectations for this film and it never disappointed me. Woody
Allen seems to have found a pretty nice groove in Europe and has written yet
another very funny comedy. Most fans will be satisfied.
The film takes place in Rome where we have
several different romantic stories taking place. These stories aren`t
interconnected with each other (other than the fact that they all take place in
Rome) and probably aren't in the same time frame either. First we are
introduced to Hayley (Alison Pill), an American tourist who is asking for
directions to a local she runs into named Michelangelo (Flavio Parenti). He
gladly takes her to the spot she´s looking for and romance blossoms between
them. Then we are introduced to Leopoldo (Roberto Benigni), a married man who´s
routine life changes all of a sudden when he becomes an instant celebrity (for
no apparent reason). John (Alec Baldwin) is a successful architect who is
visiting Rome, the city he lived in when he was a student. He runs into Jack
(played by Jessie Eisenberg) who takes him to the very same place where he used
to live when he was young. We soon discover that John really is reliving his
past through Jack. Jack is living with his girlfriend Sally (Greta Gerwig) and
her best friend Monica (Ellen Paige) is going to be staying with them for a couple
of days. Jack can`t help but fall in love with Monica. Antonio (Alessandro
Tiberi) and Milly (Alessandra Mastronardi) are a recently married couple from
the south of Italy who have arrived in Rome for a job proposal. Milly gets lost
in the big city and Antonio has a mistaken encounter with a prostitute named
Anna (Penelope Cruz) that will lead to a huge mix up. Woody Allen also has a
role in this film as Hayley`s father who comes to meet Michelangelo`s family.
Each one
of the stories work really well in my opinion although I did laugh a little
harder with Roberto Benigni`s scenes which remind us all of the perks of being
a celebrity, as well as the disadvantages (the overly exaggerated media
attention). Woody Allen was also great as the frustrated Opera director who
can`t seem to enjoy the idea of retirement and associates it more with dying. I
think that is his personal philosophy and thus the reason why he continues to
make films at such a fast pace. He refuses to retire from directing. The mix up
between Penelope Cruz and Alessandro Tiberi also makes for some funny scenes,
but my favorite story had to do with the love triangle between Jessie
Eisenberg, Greta Gerwig, and Ellen Paige. There were so many different things
going on in this film, but somehow Allen managed to make the film work in such
a way that every character was made interesting. I`m usually not a fan of these
multiple stories in one film, but here it works really well and the surprising
thing is that the stories weren’t even interconnected with each other. But it
works because Rome becomes the central theme of the film. I really had a fun
time with this movie and would recommend it.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario