Bloodless and disconcertingly cool adaptation of W. Somerset Maughm's high-class soap opera about the tangled affairs of English expatriates in pre-WWII Italy. The year is 1938: Mary Panton (Kristin Scott Thomas) is a beautiful young widow living
in a borrowed villa outside Florence. She's the talk of the expat community, which is ruled by the steely Princess San Ferdinando (Anne Bancroft); the princess's wealth and social position are irrefutable evidence of how profitable a shrewdly calculated marriage can be. Mary, whose last marriage
left her penniless and heartbroken, is being wooed by wealthy, stuffy but good-hearted Sir Edgar Smith (James Fox), who's 25 year...
Released:
2000
Rated:
PG-13
Length:
115 mins