A MONTH BY THE LAKE
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1995 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule: There is less going on in A MONTH BY
THE LAKE than meets the eye. This is a very slight
story set in 1937, the last summer of peace, in the
resort area of Lake Como, Italy. It tells of the
romantic conflict of an English woman and an
American who want the same fatuous man. Not every
British period piece film is a HOWARDS END.
Rating: 0 (-4 to +4)
Miss Bentley (played by Vanessa Redgrave) has been coming to Lake Como for vacation since she was a little girl. When she was young, many English vacationed in Lake Como, but of late there are few other English vacationing here. This year she is the only person from home until a new mystery man arrives. Major Paul Winslow (Edward Fox) is more boy than man, but Miss Bentley is interested in the dashing- looking Englishman. But then so is Miss Beaumont (Uma Thurman), the newly arrived American nanny for an Italian family. The two compete for Winslow's attentions, Beaumont with her youth and a seemingly effortless flirtation, Bentley with what might almost be called a campaign. Against the background of the pleasant Italian scenery the two play out their game.
This all sounds like it could be done very broadly and could be quite funny. Or it could just bask in the sunshine and lovely natural setting and somehow end up being magical like ENCHANTED APRIL was. Neither is really the case. Trevor Bentham`s screenplay, based on the novelette by H. E. Bates leans more toward understatement. Winslow is such a silly man that one wonders why the women are trying so hard. Beaumont is young and attractive, but empty and shallow. The only strong emotion in the film is Bentley's desperation for the man who may be her last chance ever to marry. Perhaps buried in this film is an allegory about the effortless brashness of America and a more serious and more conflict-bound Europe, but if so, there is not much to the metaphor. More likely this is just an effort to tell a leisurely story in a leisurely setting. If the latter it true, it is a little too much leisure, and the viewer starts looking for the political conflict that must be present in 1937 Italy. In fact, for 1937 Italy, the Lake Como area must be among the least interesting places to be in the country. When Bentley sees a Fascist parade and nearly gets into serious trouble for photographing it, the film seems to perk up a bit in the hope that something of some import will happen. But the moment is quickly fleeting and the story returns from a battle of ideas to a battle of flirtations. It is not surprising that more is not made of the pre-war politics since the original Bates story was set around 1960, or so I have been told.
Director John Irvin is best know recently for his WIDOWS' PEAK, a film that I found even more predictable than A MONTH BY THE LAKE, but at least it had a story to predict. Vanessa Redgrave does what she can with the silly woman she plays, but it cannot have been one of her favorite roles. I know there are people in the world someplace who think that Uma Thurman is talented and very attractive just like I know there are people who think liver and onions is delicious. It is hard for me to be keen on either. Going back to A ROOM WITH A VIEW, we have seen quite a few prestige British period pieces playing the art house circuit. H. E. Bates is unfortunately no E. M. Forster and A MONTH BY THE LAKE is no ROOM WITH A VIEW. Rate it a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
mark.leeper@att.com
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