1995 - A MONTH BY THE LAKE, entertaining romantic comedy

At 58 years old when this film was released Vanessa Redgrave is the whole show in this romantic comedy.  Set in 1937 at Lake Como in northern Italy. It’s now a place that only the very rich can afford to vacation at.  Redgrave plays a single woman who would probably be called a "free spirit."  She meets an Englishman played by "The Jackal"  himself, Edward Fox and finds herself attracted to him.  Unfortunately he is being led on by a younger woman played by Uma Thurman.  Will Vanessa win the heart of this stuffy British guy?

The film was shot on location and the production design does a good job capturing the mood of pre-World War II Italy.  John Irvin was the director.  Irvin worked in a lot of different genres whether it was the war film, the thriller or the drama he was for the most part an excellent craftsman.  The cinematography was by Pasqualino de Santis who had been associated with Luchino Visconti, Federico Fellini, Robert Bresson and Ettore Scola.  De Santis was a real heavy hitter in the Italian film industry.

 

If there is one objection that I have to this film, it's that the very magnificent Vanessa Redgrave would never fall for Edward Fox's English twit character.   The guy just acts like a complete jackass most of the time. Still this is an entertaining romantic comedy. Vanessa Redgrave even late in her career is a pleasure to watch and this film shows again what a unique talent she always is.

 

This film was written by Trevor Bentham, the running time is 92 minutes.