Seeing Diane Lane in her film debut at age 13 and Laurence Olivier at age 72 were the main attractions for me, and they don't disappoint. Lane's performance is very good, especially during the film's touching moments, and Olivier's character has a nice little twist along the way which he performs well. I was also happy to see beautiful shots in Paris, Verona, and Venice, especially the latter towards the end.
I have to say, the movie doesn't do itself any favors by straining the plot's credibility to the point of annoyance - Lane's character (also 13 years old mind you) reads Heidegger, her boyfriend (Thelonious Bernard) has developed a system for picking the winners of horse races, and Lane helps a computer scientist fix the algorithm he's been working on for a long time. It seems to want to treat the kids as adults in many other ways that don't seem authentic, which led to a lot of groan-out-loud moments in the first half of the film.
Additionally, and I suppose it's a small thing in the overall story but it was annoying to me nonetheless - I thought there is an air of misogyny in the stepfather's character, who is husband #3 and positioned as the voice of reason in Lane's family. He decides to move the family back to Houston without talking to his wife, and condescendingly tells her to stay behind while he goes after the girl (her child, not his). I detected an echo of this in how Bernard's character speaks in commanding ways to Lane's (and certainly in how his friend acts towards girls), which was off-putting.
The film is lifted up at the end because of its scenery and how the romance plays out, which is sweet and touching, and I might have rated it a smidgeon higher because of this on a more generous day. If you like Lane, Olivier, Venice, or movies that tug on the heartstrings in defiance of what your brain is telling you is contrived, this one may be worth checking out.
I have to say, the movie doesn't do itself any favors by straining the plot's credibility to the point of annoyance - Lane's character (also 13 years old mind you) reads Heidegger, her boyfriend (Thelonious Bernard) has developed a system for picking the winners of horse races, and Lane helps a computer scientist fix the algorithm he's been working on for a long time. It seems to want to treat the kids as adults in many other ways that don't seem authentic, which led to a lot of groan-out-loud moments in the first half of the film.
Additionally, and I suppose it's a small thing in the overall story but it was annoying to me nonetheless - I thought there is an air of misogyny in the stepfather's character, who is husband #3 and positioned as the voice of reason in Lane's family. He decides to move the family back to Houston without talking to his wife, and condescendingly tells her to stay behind while he goes after the girl (her child, not his). I detected an echo of this in how Bernard's character speaks in commanding ways to Lane's (and certainly in how his friend acts towards girls), which was off-putting.
The film is lifted up at the end because of its scenery and how the romance plays out, which is sweet and touching, and I might have rated it a smidgeon higher because of this on a more generous day. If you like Lane, Olivier, Venice, or movies that tug on the heartstrings in defiance of what your brain is telling you is contrived, this one may be worth checking out.