8/10
Enjoyable believable characters good movie
4 August 2014
Warning: Spoilers
In 1937 Miss Bentley (Vanessa Redgrave 58) summers at lake Como at a hotel she has spent the summer at for 16 years. There she meets Major Wilshaw (Edward Fox 58) and the other main character in this triangle Miss Beaumont (Urma Thurman 28).

Bentley is a delightful cheerful character single and is interested in the fusty Major Wilshaw. He in turn has eyes for the 28 year old Miss Beaumont who strings him along in a sadistic way.

I guess the only thing that occurred to me is why Miss Bentley would be interested in Major Wilshaw a rather unattractive short man (Redgrave is still rather attractive at 58)...if they had cast someone a bit more handsome than Fox... but then it helps delineate the themes of the story better and makes Miss Beaumont's sadistic flirting much more believable.

The first time I saw the movie in 1995 I didn't like Redgrave's Bentley character but this time I did the movie was much better the second time. Something about her hyper flighty too good to be true nature seemed contrived the first time but not really the second? I have aged 15 years and am 59 myself now maybe that is part of it.

The movie has a little of the requisite anti fascist political pounding going on from time to time but it is restrained thank God--it would have ruined a well done little story.

Good movie watch it.
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