Movie Scene
Break out the violins – 'Mandolin' is uneven, old fashioned romance
By Jack Garner
Gannett News Service
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(Rated R with violence, profanity, nudity, sex) Three Stars (Good). A mildly flawed but affecting period romance about a occupation soldier (Nicolas Cage) who woos a lovely Greek island girl (Penelope Cruz). Christian Bale, Irene Papas and especially John Hurt offer strong support for director John Madden. Universal, 115 mins. |
Penelope Cruz is Pelagia, the loveliest girl on the Ionian island of Cephallonia. Nicolas Cage is Antonio Corelli, the opera-loving captain of the Italian squadron that occupies her Greek island. She, though, is engaged to a young Greek patriot (Christian Bale), and looks suspiciously upon the Italians – quite naturally – as enemies.
Despite such obstacles, the tender-hearted and gregarious Corelli wins her heart with a song on the mandolin. (It helps that he also treats the Greek villagers with respect and shares medical supplies with Pelagia's father, the village doctor (John Hurt).
But, it is not an easy time for love. The madness they feel is overshadowed by the insanity of war. The idyllic island soon becomes a battleground.
That's the patently romantic set-up of Madden's gorgeous – if mildly flawed – film, based on the highly regarded novel by Louis De Bernieres.
The film traces Pelagia's saga, from the pre-occupation days when she's courted by the rough-hewn, uneducated but passionate Mandras (Bale), to the arrival of the Italians on the island. And later to the more ominous presence of the Nazis, who take over after the fall of Mussolini.
As is often the case when a popular but sprawling novel is converted into a two-hour film, "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" sometimes suffers from compression. Events occasionally fall too fast upon one another.
Generally, Shawn Slovo's script maintains its focus on the Pelagia-Corelli romance, while adequately detailing the complex politics and historical military action.
Cage makes a charming and charismatic Corelli, leading his men in playful operatic sing-alongs, and demonstrating considerable heart with everyone he encounters. He's an easy guy to like or, in Pelagia's case, to love.
Cruz contributes a mostly reactive performance as the lovely Pelagia. She's not given much to do; however, she effectively conveys considerable feeling through facial expressions and her richly emotive eyes.
Bale is moderately effective in the sometimes-thankless role of "the other man," and Irene Papas, the grand dame of Greek theater, brings strength, integrity and ethnic authenticity to the relatively minor role of Mandras' mother.
But viewers will most remember Hurt's touching and evocative performance as Pelagia's father, the venerable Dr. Iannis. As the film's wise and perceptive Greek chorus, he narrates the tale, comments on the developments, and advises his daughter.
One of the best actors on the planet, Hurt has seldom been as memorable – and deserves "scar consideration next spring. Hurt gives this old-fashioned, somewhat-uneven romance its authentic heart.
Rated R, with violence, profanity, nudity, sex.
Jack Garner of the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle is chief film reviewer for Gannett News Service.
