The read
Audiences rate it 16 points higher than critics do.
Synopsis
In 1930s fascist Italy, adolescent Luca just lost his mother. His father, a callous businessman, sends him to be taken care of by British expatriate Mary Wallace. Mary and her cultured friends - including artist Arabella, young widow Elsa, and archaeologist Georgie - keep a watchful eye over the boy. But the women's cultivated lives take a dramatic turn when Allied forces declare war on Mussolini.
Ratings
IMDb6.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes64%
Metacritic53/100
Audiences rate it 16 points higher than critics do.
161 audience votes
Key crew
- John MortimerScreenplay
- Franco ZeffirelliDirector
Cast
- Maggie SmithLady Hester Random
- Judi DenchArabella
- Joan PlowrightMary Wallace
- CherElsa Strauss-Almerson
- Lily TomlinGeorgina "Georgie" Rockwell
- Baird WallaceLuca
- Charlie LucasLuca (Child)
- Michael WilliamsBritish Consul
- Paul ChequerWilfred Random, aka Miss Lucy
- Massimo GhiniPaolo
- Paolo SegantiVittorio Fanfanni
- Tessa PritchardConnie Raynor
Stills
Themes
hotelambassadorloss of loved oneitalywidowworld war iifemale friendshipbenito mussoliniflorence, italyexpatriate1940s1930s