Genova DVD Review

"Genova" reviews

DVD

Genova

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2009-07-09 10:08:01

Rating

4/5

Provider

DVD Review

After his wife dies, Joe (Colin Firth) takes his two daughters to live in the sun drenched Italian town of Genova. Unable to speak the language, they have to cope with culture clashes as well as coping together as a family.

On paper, this sounds like a terrifyingly mawkish fish-out-of-the-water drama but in Michael Winterbottom’s hand this is anything but. It’s a studied and very slow burning look at grief and the terrible hold it has on us when someone passes away so suddenly.

As Joe, Firth displays an air of authority and dignified grace as a man trying to help along his daughters’ grieving process with a sense of normality, as well having to cope with his own loss. It’s about as mature as a performance as we’ve seen from Firth – bravely toning down his trademark charming smirks for something much more subtly affecting.

The two daughters are equally impressive – most notably Gossip Girl’s Willa Holland as the bitter teenager struggling to deal with the resentment she has at her youngest sister, who she blames for their mother’s death. She’s almost unrecognisable from her screen character from the glitzy US drama – and proves to be a huge talent in the making.

The pace may not be fast enough for some, with many forum opinions on the internet ranging from ‘pointless’ and ‘boring’. But persevere with it and you will be rewarded with a rich, touching and haunting little gem.

The extras include your typical perfunctory makings ofs – but at least in this case the actors do seem to be genuinely excited about the film.

Genova is released on 13th July 2009

- Martin Howden