A Haunting in Venice, Past Lives and The Lesson

 

The first shock was that here was Ariadne Oliver, but not the Zoe Wanamaker we know and love, but an American! Now Tina Fey is a great actress but should have had another name in the film. I recognised Kelly Reilly and Michelle Yeo but hardly anyone else. A Haunting in Venice  was a cheap production. I thought we would get lots of exteriors but no. It's mostly filmed on a set made to look like the inside of a Venetian villa. But not a lot to say. Kenneth Branagh was OK. Just.

Past Lives is an intimate portrait of, not a love affair but, a relationship that springs from a childhood friendship between  Na Young (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo). At first a long distance communication between Seoul and New York, and then, years later,  when Hae visits New York to see her. But in the intervening years, Na has become more westernised and changed her name to Nora. And this contrasts to how Korean she finds Hae to be. We hear almost nothing about their real lives, parents, family, friends (bar one), work or outside interests. This is just about a relationship between two people who have grown apart.  But brilliant all the same.

You could call The Lesson a literary thriller but I thought more of a drama. It is almost entirely filmed at the beautiful mansion owned by the famous writer J.M. Sinclair played by the wonderful Richard E Grant, and his wife Helene played by Julie Delpy. Here comes the tutor Liam Sommers (Daryl McCormack) to help their son Bertie. This is a real slow burner, nothing much happens but the dialogue is exceptional. The original screenplay by Alex MacKeith is so clever as the story finally ramps up.  Although the film is almost theatrical in it's presentation, it does look marvellous on the big screen, the interiors, the huge garden and the  lake. Director Alice Troughton has done masses of TV but this is her first feature film, and a very good one. I remembered Julie Delpy from the Three Colours trilogy as well many other movies. Helene only smiles once and that was when her son finally jumps into the lake, that has a lot to answer for.