Critic Reviews
Up At The Villa (2000) Rank 3 Reviews
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based on (65) reviews
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San Francisco Chronicle (Mick LaSalle)
filmcritic.com snoozes at the Villa
Boston Globe (Jay Carr)
Is a chamber romance, in that there's nothing grand or sweeping about it, but it's got all the style it needs to go with those glorious Tuscan settings. ...read the complete Up At The Villa movie review at Boston Globe (Jay Carr)
Shadows on the Wall (Rich Cline)
Based on the W Somerset Maugham novella, Up at the Villa is a tricky tale of love and intrigue among expats in Italy on the eve of World War II, roughly the same place and time (and characters) as Zeffirelli's Tea with Mussolini. But this is an ...read the complete Up At The Villa movie review at Shadows on the Wall (Rich Cline)
Palo Alto Weekly (Jeanne Aufmuth)
FilmHead.com (Matt Heffernan)
EricDSnider.com (Eric D. Snider)
Cinema in Focus (Wayman and Conklin)
Salon.com (Michael Sragow)
"Up at the Villa" adorns W. Somerset Maugham's deft, slender 1940 novella with the antique marvels of Florence and Siena, Italy -- and burdens it with intimations of the fascist apocalypse. The material can't stand the weight. Despite the prestigious ...read the complete Up At The Villa movie review at Salon.com (Michael Sragow)
San Francisco Chronicle (Mick LaSalle)
In the most extreme moments, Thomas hits her career pinnacle. ...read the complete Up At The Villa movie review at San Francisco Chronicle (Mick LaSalle)
New York Daily News (Jami Bernard)
All of Haas' movies have an air of weirdness and dread, and this one is no exception. But it's romantic as well. ...read the complete Up At The Villa movie review at New York Daily News (Jami Bernard)
Chicago Tribune (Michael Wilmington)
It's a corker of a story - a polished yarn full of desire, desperation and despair. ...read the complete Up At The Villa movie review at Chicago Tribune (Michael Wilmington)
Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
This whole movie is about manners. There is sex and violence, but the movie is not about giving in to them; it's about carrying on as if they didn't exist. ...read the complete Up At The Villa movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Miami Herald (Phoebe Flowers)
A refined, tasteful film about pure, hard lust. ...read the complete Up At The Villa movie review at Miami Herald (Phoebe Flowers)
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Apollo Guide (Brian Webster)
In addition to the setting, Up at the Villa is highlighted by two strong performances. ...read the complete Up At The Villa movie review at Apollo Guide (Brian Webster)
Variety (Derek Elley)
This least affected of their (Haases) movies is also the most dramatically and emotionally convincing. ...read the complete Up At The Villa movie review at Variety (Derek Elley)
Film.com (Robert Horton)
Scott Thomas and Penn finally develop a bit of unlikely chemistry, aided by the Hitchcockian atmosphere. I found myself rooting for these foolish, pampered, naïve people, and rooting for the movie as well. ...read the complete Up At The Villa movie review at Film.com (Robert Horton)
Matinee Magazine (Jason Clark)
culturevulture.net
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (William Arnold)
It has some wonderful moments and a handful of delicious Maughamian characters. ...read the complete Up At The Villa movie review at Seattle Post-Intelligencer (William Arnold)
Austin Chronicle (Marjorie Baumgarten)
A charmingly mounted, period romantic drama that benefits from the performances of a fine ensemble cast and the lovely location settings of Florence and Tuscany. ...read the complete Up At The Villa movie review at Austin Chronicle (Marjorie Baumgarten)
eye WEEKLY (Catharine Tunnacliffe)
Philadelphia City Paper review by Cindy Fuchs
Tucson Weekly (Mari Wadsworth)
Film Threat Review
, set in a Florence, Italy just on the cusp of WWII, recovers nicely, but not completely once it finally embarks on its tale. The titular villa, a sprawling mansion and garden just at the edge of one of Florence's rougher neighborhoods, are all that ...read the complete Up At The Villa movie review at Film Threat Review
Spirituality & Practice (Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat)
Philadelphia Inquirer (Steven Rea)
It's low-grade Casablanca - an ill-fated love affair, rife with murder and deceit, with World War II as a backdrop and a farewell scene that has something to do with getting to Paris. ...read the complete Up At The Villa movie review at Philadelphia Inquirer (Steven Rea)
JoBlo's Movie Emporium reviews "Up at the Villa"
Of course, the film turns into more of a "political" game during its second half, but none of that really interested me much either. No real tension, just a little politics here and there, nothing we haven't seen before. And when is Jeremy Davies finally ...read the complete Up At The Villa movie review at JoBlo's Movie Emporium reviews "Up at the Villa"
Movie Habit (Marty Mapes)
One Guy's Opinion (Frank Swietek)
The result is entirely unconvincing as drama, but amusing as pulpish melodrama. ...read the complete Up At The Villa movie review at One Guy's Opinion (Frank Swietek)
User Reviews
by A. Cullen on March 16, 2009
THIS IS AN EXCELLENT MOVIE, KRISTAN SCOTT THOMAS IS SUCH A GREAT ACTRESS. ...
To settle or wait for true love-isn't that the question we all want answered. In 'Up At The Villa' Sean Penn and Kristen-Scott-Thomas give very strong performances in the lead roles. As for Anne Bancroft, she may not appear in more than one or two ...
by Cabir Davis on January 21, 2001
We rented this video based on the legend on the cover, and didn't quite realize it would turn out to be the treat that it eventually was. This brilliant adaptation of a Somerset Maugham novella turns out to be one of the best things about 2000's art-film ...
by carol irvin "c.k.... on November 14, 2000
I am used to having Sean Penn, Kristin Scott-Thomas and Anne Bancroft completely knock me out in their screen roles. However, I'm also well accustomed to not being one of writer Somerset Maugham's fans. His writing bores me to death on the written page. ...
by "mjmilne" on September 02, 2000
UATV is from a Somerset Maughin novella. It takes place as World War II reaches Italy. Kristin Scott Thomas plays a complex Mary Panton, widowed, in search of romance and a rich husband, who stays at her friend's Florence Villa. Sean Penn plays the ...
by Susan Fong on June 29, 2000
I also really enjoyed this movie. This is an intelligent rendering of Somerset Maugham's novella. No explicit language, sex, or violence but the film still holds your attention because of the good dialogue and acting. The costumes are gorgeous too. ...
by Dianne Foster "Di... on September 18, 2005
Although I am no fan of Sean Penn, I found UP AT THE VILLA an interesting and well executed story. The protagonist is played by Kirsten Scott-Thomas, who demonstrates again that her strength lies in her ability to play a relatively honest and forthright ...
by Joseph Haschka on February 19, 2005
UP AT THE VILLA illustrates the mischief one can get into when burdened with too much spare time.
Mary Panton (Kristin Scott Thomas), a widowed Brit whose husband recently died after squandering their fortune, blast his eyes, is residing in 1939 ...
by Lawrence Bird on December 31, 2002
If there was ever a need for evidence that one great actor/actress cannot carry a mediocre film, "Up in the Villa" satisfies that need. Kristen Scott Thomas is asked to carry nearly the entire load in this film and she does marvelously; however, the ...
by Steven Reynolds on September 05, 2002
A sumptuously filmed, delightfully old-fashioned, but ultimately rather insubstantial adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's novella of the same name. Mary Panton (Kristin Scott Thomas) must decide: does she play it safe and marry a stuffy Englishman ...
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