To Rome with Love (film)

Last updated

To Rome with Love
To rome with love ver2.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Woody Allen
Written byWoody Allen
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Darius Khondji
Edited by Alisa Lepselter
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • April 20, 2012 (2012-04-20)(Italy)
  • June 22, 2012 (2012-06-22)(United States)
Running time
112 minutes [1]
Countries
  • Italy
  • United States
Languages
  • Italian
  • English
Budget$17 million [2]
Box office$73.2 million [3]

To Rome with Love is a 2012 magical realist [4] romantic comedy film written, directed by and co-starring Woody Allen in his first acting appearance since 2006, as well as his most recent appearance in a film he's directed. The film is set in Rome; it was released in Italian theaters on April 13, 2012, [5] and opened in Los Angeles and New York City on June 22, 2012. [1]

Contents

The film features an ensemble cast, including Allen himself. The story is told in four separate vignettes: a clerk who wakes up to find himself a celebrity, an architect who takes a trip back to the street he lived on as a student, a young couple on their honeymoon, and an Italian funeral director whose uncanny singing ability enraptures his soon to be in-law, an American opera director.

Plot

Hayley's Story

American tourist Hayley becomes engaged to lawyer Michelangelo while spending a summer in Rome. Hayley's parents, Jerry and Phyllis, fly to Italy to meet her fiancé. During the visit, Michelangelo's mortician father Giancarlo sings in the shower and Jerry, a retired—and critically reviled—opera director, feels inspired to bring his gift to the public. Giancarlo is convinced by Jerry to audition in front of a room of opera bigwigs but performs poorly in this setting.

Jerry then realizes that Giancarlo's talent is tied to the comfort and freedom he feels in the shower. He stages a concert in which Giancarlo performs at the Teatro dell'Opera while actually washing himself onstage in a shower. This is a great success, so Jerry and Giancarlo decide to stage Pagliacci with an incongruous shower present in all scenes. Giancarlo receives rave reviews, but decides to retire from opera singing, preferring to work as a mortician and spend time with his family.

Antonio's Story

Newlyweds Antonio and Milly plan to move to Rome after his uncles offer him a job in their family's business. Before meeting Antonio's relatives, Milly gets lost in Rome and loses her cell phone. After ending up at a film shoot, Milly meets Luca Salta, an actor she idolizes. Back at her hotel, Anna, a prostitute, is mistakenly sent to Antonio's room.

Before he can clarify the misunderstanding, his relatives arrive. To save face, Antonio convinces her to pose as Milly. The group goes to lunch, and then, to a party. While there, Antonio talks to Anna about how pure Milly is. After discovering he was a virgin before meeting Milly, she seduces him in the bushes.

Meanwhile, Luca tries to seduce Milly at his hotel room. Milly decides to have sex with him, but then an armed thief breaks in. Later, Luca's wife and a private investigator show up. Milly and the thief climb into bed and fool Mrs. Salta into believing the room is theirs while Luca hides in the bathroom. Once his wife has left, Luca runs off. The burglar flirts with Milly and she has sex with him instead. After returning to the hotel room, she and Antonio decide to return to their rustic hometown—but first they begin to make love.

Leopoldo's Story

Leopoldo lives a mundane life with his wife and two children. Inexplicably, he wakes up one morning to discover that he has become a national celebrity. Paparazzi document his every move, wanting to know everything about him. Leopoldo even becomes a manager at his company and begins dating models and attending prestigious events. The constant attention wears on him, though. One day, in the middle of an interview, the paparazzi spot a man "who looks more interesting" and abandon Leopoldo. At first, Leopoldo welcomes the return to his old life, but one afternoon he breaks down, missing the attention.

John's Story

John, a well-known architect, visits Rome with his wife and their friends. He lived there some 30 years ago, and would rather revisit his old haunts than go sightseeing with the others. While looking for his old apartment building, John meets Jack, an American architecture student who recognizes him. Jack happens to live in John's old building, and invites him to the apartment he shares with his girlfriend Sally. Throughout the rest of the story, John appears as a quasi-real and quasi-imaginary figure around Jack and makes frank observations of events. [6] One day, Sally invites her best friend Monica to stay with them. Jack hits it off with her, and the two end up having an affair.

Jack, now besotted with Monica, plans to leave Sally, but decides to wait until she finishes her midterms. When that day comes, Monica receives the news that she has been cast in a Hollywood blockbuster. Becoming completely focused on preparing for the role, Monica forgets about traveling with Jack, who realizes how shallow she is. John and Jack later part ways. It is possible that John's whole experience was actually his memory of what happened to him 30 years ago. (It is loosely implied that Sally is now his wife.)

Cast

Grouped by storylines

"Hayley's Story"

"Leopoldo's Story"

"Antonio's Story"

"John's Story"

Other cast

Production

To Rome with Love tells four unrelated stories taking place in Rome. Antonio's story is a direct copy with some amendments of an entire Federico Fellini film, The White Sheik (1952).

Financial backing for To Rome with Love came from distributors in Rome who offered to finance a film for Allen as long as it was filmed in Rome. Allen accepted, seeing the offer as a way to work in the city and "get the money to work quickly and from a single source". The four vignettes featured in the film were based on ideas and notes he had written throughout the year before he wrote the script. The vignettes featured in the film deal with the theme of "fame and accomplishment", although Allen stated that he didn't intend for them to have any thematic connection. [10] He initially named the film Bop Decameron, a reference to the 14th century book by Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio, but several people did not understand the reference, so he retitled it Nero Fiddles. The new title was still met with confusion, so he settled on the final title To Rome with Love, although he has stated that he hates this title. [11]

Release

In December 2011, Sony Pictures Classics acquired distribution rights to the film. [12]

Box office

To Rome with Love was a box office success. It earned $16.7 million in the United States and $73.2 million worldwide. [3]

Critical reception

The film has generally received mixed reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 46% based on reviews from 179 critics with an average score of 5.4/10. The critical consensus is that "To Rome With Love sees Woody Allen cobbling together an Italian postcard of farce, fantasy, and comedy with only middling success." [13] Metacritic gives the film an average score of 54 out of 100, and thus "mixed or average reviews", based on 38 professional critics. [14] Roger Ebert gave the film 3 stars out of 4, writing: "To Rome With Love generates no particular excitement or surprise, but it provides the sort of pleasure he seems able to generate almost on demand." [4]

A. O. Scott of The New York Times found some of the scenes "rushed and haphazardly constructed" and some of the dialogue "overwritten and under-rehearsed", but also recommended it, writing "One of the most delightful things about To Rome With Love is how casually it blends the plausible and the surreal, and how unabashedly it revels in pure silliness." [1] On the other hand, David Denby of The New Yorker thought the film was "light and fast, with some of the sharpest dialogue and acting that he's put on the screen in years." [15]

In 2016, film critics Robbie Collin and Tim Robey ranked it as one of the worst movies by Woody Allen. [16]

Controversies

On November 10, 2017, Elliot Page described working on To Rome with Love as the "biggest regret" of his career, referring to sexual abuse allegations made by Allen's adopted daughter Dylan Farrow. Page said he felt pressured by others who told him, "of course you have to say yes to this Woody Allen film." [17] [18] In January 2018, Greta Gerwig said that she regretted working on the film. [19] [20]

Notes

  1. 1 2 Credited as Ellen Page; he came out as transgender in 2020.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woody Allen</span> American filmmaker, actor, and comedian (born 1935)

Heywood Allen is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many accolades, including the most nominations (16) for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He has won four Academy Awards, ten BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Grammy Award, as well as nominations for a Emmy Award and a Tony Award. Allen was awarded an Honorary Golden Lion in 1995, the BAFTA Fellowship in 1997, an Honorary Palme d'Or in 2002, and the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2014. Two of his films have been inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michelangelo Antonioni</span> Italian film director and screenwriter (1912–2007)

Michelangelo Antonioni was an Italian director and filmmaker. He is best known for his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents"—L'Avventura (1960), La Notte (1961), and L'Eclisse (1962)—and the English-language film Blowup (1966). His films have been described as "enigmatic and intricate mood pieces" that feature elusive plots, striking visual composition, and a preoccupation with modern landscapes. His work substantially influenced subsequent art cinema. Antonioni received numerous awards and nominations throughout his career, being the only director to have won the Palme d'Or, the Golden Lion, the Golden Bear and the Golden Leopard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giancarlo Giannini</span> Italian actor (born 1942)

Giancarlo Giannini is an Italian actor and voice actor. He won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his performance in Love and Anarchy (1973) and received an Academy Award nomination for Seven Beauties (1975). He is also a four-time recipient of the David di Donatello Award for Best Actor.

<i>Husbands and Wives</i> 1992 comedy-drama film by Woody Allen

Husbands and Wives is a 1992 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. The film stars Allen, Mia Farrow, Sydney Pollack, Judy Davis, Lysette Anthony, Juliette Lewis, Liam Neeson and Blythe Danner. The film debuted shortly after the end of Allen and Farrow's romantic and professional partnership, and was the last of their 13 films together. The movie is filmed by Carlo Di Palma with a handheld camera style and features documentary-like interviews with the characters interspersed with the story.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noah Baumbach</span> American filmmaker (born 1969)

Noah Baumbach is an American filmmaker. He is known for making light comedies set in New York City and his works are inspired by filmmakers such as Woody Allen and Whit Stillman. His frequent collaborators include Wes Anderson, Adam Driver, and his wife, Greta Gerwig.

<i>Blow Out</i> 1981 film by Brian De Palma

Blow Out is a 1981 American neo-noir mystery thriller film written and directed by Brian De Palma. The film stars John Travolta as Jack Terry, a movie sound effects technician from Philadelphia who, while recording sounds for a low-budget slasher film, unintentionally captures audio evidence of an assassination involving a presidential hopeful. Nancy Allen stars as Sally Bedina, a young woman involved in the crime. The supporting cast includes John Lithgow and Dennis Franz. The film's tagline in advertisements was, "Murder has a sound all of its own".

<i>Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)</i> (film) 1972 film by Woody Allen

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* is a 1972 American sex comedy anthology film directed by Woody Allen. It consists of a series of short sequences loosely inspired by David Reuben's 1969 book of the same name.

<i>Broadway Danny Rose</i> 1984 film by Woody Allen

Broadway Danny Rose is a 1984 American black-and-white comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen. It follows a hapless theatrical agent who, by helping a client, gets dragged into a love triangle involving the mob. The film stars Allen as the titular character, as well as Mia Farrow and Nick Apollo Forte.

<i>The White Sheik</i> 1952 Italian film

The White Sheik is a 1952 Italian romantic comedy film directed by Federico Fellini and starring Alberto Sordi, Leopoldo Trieste, Brunella Bovo and Giulietta Masina. Written by Fellini, Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano and Michelangelo Antonioni, the film is about a man who brings his new bride to Rome for their honeymoon, to have an audience with the Pope, and to present his wife to his family. When the young woman sneaks away to find the hero of her romance photonovels, the man is forced to spend hour after hour making excuses to his eager family who want to meet his missing bride. The White Sheik was filmed on location in Fregene, Rome, Spoleto and Vatican City.

<i>LEclisse</i> 1962 film by Michelangelo Antonioni

L'Eclisse is a 1962 romantic drama film co-written and directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and starring Alain Delon and Monica Vitti, with Francisco Rabal, Lilla Brignone, and Louis Seigner. Filmed on location in Rome and Verona, the story follows a young woman (Vitti) who pursues an affair with a confident young stockbroker (Delon). Antonioni attributed some of his inspiration for L'Eclisse to when he filmed a solar eclipse in Florence. The film is considered the last part of a trilogy and is preceded by L'Avventura (1960) and La Notte (1961).

<i>Vicky Cristina Barcelona</i> 2008 film by Woody Allen

Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a 2008 romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. The film stars Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson in lead roles. The plot centers on two American women, Vicky and Cristina, who spend a summer in Barcelona, where they meet an artist, Juan Antonio, who is attracted to both of them, while still enamored of his mentally and emotionally unstable ex-wife María Elena. The film was shot in Spain in Barcelona, Avilés, and Oviedo, and was Allen's fourth consecutive film shot outside the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greta Gerwig</span> American actress and filmmaker (born 1983)

Greta Celeste Gerwig is an American actress, screenwriter, and film director. Initially known for working on various mumblecore films, she has since expanded from acting in and co-writing independent films to directing major studio films. Gerwig was included in the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leo Gullotta</span> Italian actor

Salvatore Leopoldo "Leo" Gullotta is an Italian actor, voice actor, comedian and writer. He became known for his role in Café Express (1980), and has won several David di Donatello awards, the first one being for his role in Giuseppe Tornatore's The Professor (1986).

<i>Frances Ha</i> 2012 film by Noah Baumbach

Frances Ha is a 2012 American black-and-white comedy-drama film directed by Noah Baumbach. It is written by Baumbach and Greta Gerwig, who also stars as Frances Halladay, a struggling 27-year-old dancer. The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on September 1, 2012, and was given a limited theatrical release in the United States on May 17, 2013, by IFC Films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simona Caparrini</span> Italian actress (born 1972)

Simona Caparrini is an Italian actress. She is known for: To Rome with Love, directed by Woody Allen, where she plays Aunt Joan, the uptight member of Roman high society; Romeo & Juliet, directed by Carlo Carlei; and the Warner Bros. production The Man from U.N.C.L.E., directed by Guy Ritchie.

<i>Maggies Plan</i> 2015 film by Rebecca Miller

Maggie's Plan is a 2015 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Rebecca Miller, based on an original story by Karen Rinaldi. The film stars Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke, Bill Hader, Maya Rudolph, Travis Fimmel, Wallace Shawn, Ida Rohatyn, and Julianne Moore.

<i>20th Century Women</i> 2016 film by Mike Mills

20th Century Women is a 2016 American coming-of-age comedy drama film written and directed by Mike Mills and starring Annette Bening, Elle Fanning, Greta Gerwig, Lucas Jade Zumann, and Billy Crudup. It is set in 1979 in Southern California and partly inspired by Mills's childhood.

<i>Lady Bird</i> (film) 2017 film by Greta Gerwig

Lady Bird is a 2017 American coming-of-age comedy drama film written and directed by Greta Gerwig in her solo directorial debut, starring Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts, Lucas Hedges, Timothée Chalamet, Beanie Feldstein, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Lois Smith. Set in Sacramento, California from fall 2002 to fall 2003, it focuses on a high school senior who shares a turbulent relationship with her mother.

<i>Little Women</i> (2019 film) 2019 American film by Greta Gerwig

Little Women is a 2019 American coming-of-age period drama film written and directed by Greta Gerwig. It is the seventh film adaptation of the 1868 novel by Louisa May Alcott. It chronicles the lives of the March sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—in Concord, Massachusetts, during the 19th century. It stars an ensemble cast consisting of Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, Timothée Chalamet, Meryl Streep, Tracy Letts, Bob Odenkirk, James Norton, Louis Garrel, and Chris Cooper.

<i>White Noise</i> (2022 film) Film by Noah Baumbach

White Noise is a 2022 absurdist comedy drama film written and directed by Noah Baumbach, adapted from the 1985 novel with the same title by Don DeLillo. It is Baumbach's first directed feature not to be based on an original story of his own. The film stars Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig, and Don Cheadle. Set in the 1980s, the story follows the life of a niche academic and his family as they go through trials and tribulations, beginning with an environmental disaster near their home.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Scott, A. O. (June 21, 2012). "When in Rome, Still an Anxious New Yorker". The New York Times . Archived from the original on June 21, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
  2. ↑ Vivarelli, Nick (April 23, 2012). "Woody Allen pic opens top in Italy: 'To Rome With Love' pulls $3.7 million". The Chicago Tribune . Archived from the original on July 8, 2021. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  3. 1 2 "To Rome With Love". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on January 2, 2013. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
  4. 1 2 Ebert, Roger (June 27, 2012). "To Rome with Love". Chicago Sun-Times . Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  5. ↑ Lyman, Eric J. (April 13, 2012). "Woody Allen's To Rome With Love Draws Mixed Response in Italy at World Premiere". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on September 16, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  6. ↑ Dana Stevens (June 22, 2012). "To Rome With Love". Slate. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Greta Gerwig, Alison Pill Join Woody Allen Movie". The Hollywood Reporter. June 20, 2011. Archived from the original on June 23, 2011. Retrieved June 22, 2011.
  8. ↑ "To Rome With Love Filming Locations – Rome, Italy". Woody Allen Pages. February 26, 2017. Archived from the original on January 11, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Woody Allen chiama un vigile (vero) sul set del suo The Bop Decameron" by Carlotta De Leo (print version Archived January 12, 2014, at the Wayback Machine , full version) Archived January 12, 2014, at the Wayback Machine , Corriere della Sera, July 22, 2011 (in Italian)
  10. ↑ Eisenberg, Eric (June 22, 2012). "Woody Allen Explains Why Annie Hall And Hannah And Her Sisters Were Disappointments". Cinema Blend. Archived from the original on July 1, 2012. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Woody Allen dislikes own films, but won't retire". Hindustan Times . Agence France-Presse (AFP). June 26, 2012. Archived from the original on June 28, 2012. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Sony Classics Acquires Woody Allen's 'Nero Fiddled'" Archived January 18, 2014, at the Wayback Machine . December 21, 2011.
  13. ↑ "To Rome with Love". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on August 15, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  14. ↑ "To Rome with Love". Metacritic. April 16, 2018. Archived from the original on April 29, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  15. ↑ Denby, David (July 2, 2012). "That's Amore: To Rome with Love". The New Yorker . pp. 84–85. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  16. ↑ Collin, Robbie; Robey, Tim (October 12, 2016). "All 47 Woody Allen movies – ranked from worst to best". The Telegraph . London, England. Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  17. ↑ Page, Elliot (November 10, 2017). "Posts". Facebook . Archived from the original on January 29, 2018.
  18. ↑ Bitette, Nicole (November 12, 2017). "Ellen Page takes aim at Hollywood abusers, including ex-bosses Brett Ratner and Woody Allen". New York Daily News . Archived from the original on November 16, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2017– via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  19. ↑ Shanley, Patrick (January 9, 2018). "Greta Gerwig Says She Regrets Working With Woody Allen". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on January 10, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  20. ↑ Bruni, Frank (January 9, 2018). "Greta Gerwig, Aaron Sorkin: Hollywood Must Change". The New York Times . Archived from the original on January 10, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.