Smitten!
Directed by: Barry Morrow
Summary: This English-language musical comedy was set and shot in Italy’s picture-perfect Tuscan countryside, and stars just two American actors – most prominently Darren Criss (Glee, American Crime Story) as the lead character Tyler – and an array of European actors, including co-lead Madalina Ghenea as Tyler’s love interest Rosalia Drago. It’s a fable about what happens when three organized crime henchmen and their ransom victim Tyler wind up spending the night in an abandoned barn in rural Italy. The barn has an enchantment over it which causes all four men to fall in love with the first thing they see in the morning, and it results in chaos throughout the village. Tyler sets out to woo the object of his affection, and prove his feelings are real.
My take: It was a delight through and through. It was funny, exciting, romantic and deliciously light and airy. Amid a festival full of stories about violence, injustice, death, and people living in cultures or families that reject their true selves, it served excellently as one of few films that offered a reprieve. The actors overcame language limitations to nail the humor in each of their equally zany scenes. Criss was born to be Tyler, a pure soul hidden under a spoiled trust fund baby exterior, and the model-turned-actress held her own as far more than a pretty face, dazzlingly conveying Rosalia’s balance of skepticism, cynicism and independence; and vulnerability and quiet hopefulness. The comedy was this film’s personality, the gorgeous green valley its image, the romance its soul, then the music was its spirit – with culturally suited, vibrant songs and tunes threading through every minute.
My only critique is that the big resolution of the central love story felt a little rushed after all the buildup, which left me wondering if I had missed something. Apart from that, this is tied with Sing Song for the most fun I had during the festival – and in fact, is one of the best times I’ve had in a theater, period.
Rating: 4.5
Follow the film at: http://www.smitten-film.com/
SMITTEN! Trailer from Smitten! Film on Vimeo.
There has been a critical error on your website.<\/p>
Learn more about debugging in WordPress.<\/a><\/p>","data":{"status":500},"additional_errors":[]}