Too much of everything

Good movie but grossly overrated

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

I came to this film fairly late. Anyone who loves Maggie Smith or enjoys movies with romantic European settings should have an opportunity to understand what they are getting. Beautiful settings, nice camera-work, believable characters, nicely stitched together story until we get close to the end when the main character (was this the directors intention???) reveals that she has a serious problem with alcohol, so much so that it puts a bizarre & uncomfortable twist to a scene in the uncle's bedroom in which we see a boozed up post-cougar woman who appears to expose herself & throw herself at an unwilling & terrified victim. A whole scene that is oiled by the bottle of booze she is cradling. My main question at the end of the film is why this uncle would surrender his beautiful niece to the tender mercies of an old woman who smokes too much & is clearly an alcoholic with a load of unresolved issues. A strange & unsettling ending.

"Perfection is attained by slow degrees; it requires the hand of time" Voltaire. Maggie Smith is closer than most. She has, in abundance, that quality of stillness of doing 'nothing' and yet almost deafening one with the point. The greats all have this quality, Antony Hopkins does it better than most. Paul Newman has it. None can better Maggie Smith in this respect. She is and makes herself, vulnerable, and in this she captures her audience immediately. We're with her right from frame one. We suffer each set-back, every slight, every insult with her. She is an innocent child who's known just about every vile horrific thing that one human being can do to another and yet, still she trusts herself to give and to see and to feel. Bravo Maggie you got it all in, said it all, again! The film/programme is technically and literally, beautiful. I can and do watch it with the sound off on occasion – by now I know the script word perfect anyway. I sometimes do this with Ridley Scott's 'Duellists', the only other film which comes close to 'House in Umbria' in this visual respect for me. The ensemble playing is marvellous, a team of great actors at the very top of their game. Chris Cooper proves (not that there was ever any doubt) that he's one of the greats. I often wonder if he is appreciated as much in the U.S.A. as he is in the Europe. Please folk, if you've not experienced this work do so SOON! 9.99/10 (damning by faint praise?)

A tale of caring and understanding involving an elderly authoress, an elderly general, a child and a young man brought together by the tragedy of a bomb attack on a train. The authoress takes them to her home whilst the investigation by the local police continues. Each character presents inward battles and longings. The uncle of the young child, an eminent professor and her only remaining relative, arrives to take her back to America. The uncle, well-meaning but childless, is beleaguered by thoughts of doubt and uncertainty - how will he and his wife, also an academic cope with his niece? Estranged from the child's mother, his sister, the child is a stranger to him, thus creating tension and uncertainty. The young man, a German who had been travelling with a new girlfriend, is enigmatic. The elderly general's daughter died in the crash. He and the young man strive to create a garden for their hostess; an obvious metaphor for renewal and hope for the future. Excellent Excllent Excellent.

I certainly enjoyed this quality movie. The entire cast looked as if they had lived where they were for years. Maggie Smith has played some monumental parts in her career, but this was surely her best. Totally convincing as the alcoholic looking for something to enhance her life and give it meaning, she acted gently and convincingly throughout. The late Ronnie Barker played a part which might have been made for him. A soft,undemanding role, but played brilliantly by one of the United Kingdom's most underrated actors. Aimee was the orphaned child supplying a deep felt need by her temporary guardian (Maggie Smith)and the part was well played by this young actress. Timothy Spall, as an Irishman, for once, was entirely convincing in this supporting, but important role. I felt this was a film which showed his acting talents off very well. The one part in the cast which I felt was not quite believable was the Italian detective. Having said this, the part was well played, but it was not what I would have expected from a policeman in any country. Real policeman intrude and I thought the part was written more like a fond uncle. Overall I was glad to have seen this movie because it was memorable and of excellent quality