Up at the Villa
October Films | Release Date: May 5, 2000 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
57
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
18
Negative:
1

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The story has old-fashioned characters and situations, and Haas has sensibly filmed it in an old-fashioned way, stressing visual appeal rather than the story's sordid undertones. The acting is excellent, too. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
It's a corker of a story - a polished yarn full of desire, desperation and despair. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldPhoebe Flowers
A refined, tasteful film about pure, hard lust. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger 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 full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
In the most extreme moments, Thomas hits her career pinnacle. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJami 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 full review
75
Boston GlobeJay 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 full review
70
VarietyDerek Elley
This least affected of their (Haases) movies is also the most dramatically and emotionally convincing. Read full review
70
Film.comRobert 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 full review
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
It has some wonderful moments and a handful of delicious Maughamian characters. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie 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 full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven 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 full review
60
L.A. WeeklyRon Stringer
Impressive supporting cast---, in character parts both expanded and invented, enrich the enterprise. Read full review
60
Village VoiceDennis Lim
The Haases, whose previous films ("Angels and Insects," "The Music of Chance") evinced a remote, unfussy sensibility, are a poor fit for the melodramatic contortions that the story demands. Read full review
60
Dallas ObserverBill Gallo
Despite his natty wardrobe and calculated sangfroid, Penn doesn't summon up quite the right image. Read full review
60
SalonMichael Sragow
Despite the prestigious talents involved, this is strictly "Minor Piece Theatre." Read full review
60
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Moderately pleasing adaptation of the W. Somerset Maugham novella. Read full review
60
Film.comTom Keogh
If you're paying close attention, there is reason enough to find Up at the Villa a fascinating experience, almost an experiment in some ways, but it's not a fully realized work of cinema. Read full review
60
Film.comJohn Hartl
Somewhere around the beginning of Hour Two, the narrative loses momentum, and Pino Donaggio's molasses-thick score begins to drag everything down with it. The ending also lacks the surprise twist that seems to be promised . Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
The surprise is how tame and passionless it all seems, particularly after director Philip Haas's fevered "Angels and Insects." Read full review
50
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
The characters are so conventional that the movie has nowhere interesting to go, even when a corpse complicates affairs. Read full review
50
USA TodayMike Clark
For novelty value, you can do worse than seeing Sean Penn in a rare chance to don evening-wear on screen, but this isn't a sight to sustain a two-hour haul. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter Travers
It's fun to see Sean Penn portray a playboy, like Bogart in "Casablanca," who hides his true heart behind a layer of cynicism.
50
Baltimore SunAnn Hornaday
Genteel but ultimately unnecessary entertainment. Read full review
50
The New York TimesDana Stevens
It reminds us that Italy is beautiful, that Fascism was a dreadful nuisance and that Sean Penn is a great actor, deserving of better vehicles than this vintage lemon. Read full review
50
New York PostLou Lumenick
There are a few interesting moments, but basically Up at the Villa is dangerously short of sympathetic characters. Read full review
50
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
For all its handsome decor, tasteful restraint and old-fashioned look-and-feel, is a stiff, lacking tension, sizzle, drama, energy, appeal and, finally, purpose. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Politics is almost an afterthought in this balky, attenuated film. Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
The plot is more convenient than intriguing, the characters more cartoonish than iconic--especially the heroine, who grapples with feminism in a way that should have been fascinating. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
The melodrama of the Maugham original is too simplistic to involve, and the places the film's plot goes are so obvious that even the presence of quality actors can't create sufficient interest. Read full review
35
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
The total lack of sexual chemistry between them doesn't help. Frankly, I'd rather see Scott Thomas play a nun than sit through another one of these turgid romancers. Read full review
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