Review: Genova (2008)

[Tim Voon]

Film Review - Genova 2008
By Tim Voon
2 out of 5 stars

GENOVA is an interesting study of how the sudden death of a family
member can affect the dynamics within that family. Starring Colin
Firth, this independent film is set initially in the cold winters of
Chicago before moving to the warmer climes of sunny Italy  - Genova.

The opening sequence is of particular interest. A mother (Hope Davis)
driving her car along the cold slippery roads of Chicago in winter,
her two young girls (Perla Haney-Jardine and Willa Holland) happily
playing a seemingly harmless guessing game in the back seat of the
when the unthinkable happens. Director Michael Winterbottom (A MIGHTY
HEART) purposely stretches out this sequence and the viewer is
initially lulled into a sense of security by the laughter and
joviality between the mother and daughters; but as the fun goes on,
the zooming cars and trucks on the snow covered roads become louder
and faster, until the laughter and joviality becomes uncomfortable.
You are left with a feeling of impending dread and threat. This sets
the tone for the rest of the movie.

The movie then moves quickly onwards to Italy, where the family has
moved to escape the past. We are met with the screams of the youngest
daughter (Perla Haney-Jardine) at night. She blames herself for her
mother's death and is haunted by visions of her dead mother. This
leads her to become lost on a mountain and almost hit by oncoming
traffic on a busy road. I found this topic a little confusing as it is
never fully explained or resolved by the end of the movie. I could
only put it down to acute hallucinations as a result of unexpressed
guilt and grief over her mother's death.

On the other hand the older sister (Willa Holland) expresses her grief
in a different way - through her sexuality. There is a very natural
love making scene with an Italian boy which shows why the Italians are
such sensual lovers. In the meantime the father (Colin Firth) goes
through his own personal journey caught in a love triangle between an
Italian student and an old flame (Catherine Keener). This movie
proceeds by frequently flipping between the dilemmas of father and
daughters.

In the midst of all these relationship issues, director Michael
Winterbottom again builds tension and threat into the most ordinary
things. Like a simple walk down an old cobblestone alley is made to
look threatening, because of the camera angles, shadows, strange
noises and faces. The viewer is made to think something awful is about
to happen like at the beginning of the film but the discomfort
dissipates as quickly as it started. There is another uncomfortable
scene (especially if you're afraid of heights), when Colin Firth
believing his daughter lost, runs frantically up a treacherous
mountain path in the dim twilight. He keeps stumbling on the slippery
slope as stones and pebbles roll from under him and over the cliff.
You feel that he is about to fall to his death in his panic, the
tension builds and again quickly dissipates. I guess in some ways this
is reflective of life - those moments when we believe that something
awful is about to happen and are utterly relieved when it doesn't.

The scenery of Genova was magnificent. If this movie was filmed in a
less sunny clime it would have been depressing. The actors were
convincing and believable and I appreciated that the movie was trying
to touch on some important topics of death, grief and guilt.
Unfortunately, I found it too slow and contrived for my liking.



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