A binge watch of the second series of America’s recent favourite show. A highly satisfying watch blending murders, comedy, social commentary and the beautiful landscape of Sicily: Taormina, Noto, Palermo etc.
The same format as last time: a group of guests arrive at a hotel for a week during which all sorts of events happen eventually leading to the death of one or more of the cast.
Mike White exploits Sicily for all its beauty and for the mafia reputation which becomes more evident as the series progresses.
Jennifer Coolidge returns from series 1 as Tanya, the rich, ditzy woman who is now married to Greg who she met in Hawaii on series 1.
After a day in which he treats her to all manner of local treats including a ride on a Vespa like Monica Vitti, he disappears and she falls into the acquaintance of Quentin (Tom Hollander) and his merry men – a bunch of gay bon-vivants based around his inherited palatial mansion in Palermo.
His nephew Jack (Leo Woodall) distracts Portia (Haley Lu Richardson) who is there as Tanya’s assistant but like many on the show seems to spend most of her time flirting.
Despite having a wonderful time with Quentin Tanya starts to realise that something is very wrong in the state of Denmark.
Coolidge has the scatty babyish woman act down to a tee but her acting in the last episode especially shows why she deserves all the accolades she is getting. Despite the supposedly shallow person she is, we get a whole gamut of emotions and realisations from her.
Two couples are among the other guests.
Cameron (Theo James) is an attractive go-getting alpha male with his equally attractive wife Daphne (Meghann Fahy) whose main talent is making any bad things seem less bad in her determination never to be a victim. This power couple seem pretty bad people on the one hand and yet they also seem so common – people looking after themselves.
They are here with Cam’s roommate from university, the nerdish Ethan (Will Sharpe) and his wife Harper (Aubrey Plaza), a lawyer who seems very bitter about the rich people she has to be with.
This foursome are at odds the whole time and reflect an interesting social dynamic today regarding entitlement, honesty, etc.
A family of men are the third main group. The Grandad (F Murray Abraham) seems to be a dirty old man but is seeking his roots in Sicily.
Son Dom (Michael Imperioli) is separated from his wife and a serial adulterer.
Grandson Albie (Adam di Marco) is hunky and innocent – a sort of social conscience from the family but also tempted by passing skirts. They get entangled with two local girls on the make.
Lucia (Simona Tabasco) is the main mover and is your local on the game in search of a better life.
Mia (Beatrice Grannó) is less keen on the business and just wants to be a singer but she and her friend go from bed to bed as the week progresses.
And then there is Valentina (Sabrina Impacciatore) the uptight hotel manager who has a big transformation in the course of the week.
It’s all pretty good stuff keeping you glued to the screen but thinking as well. Cristobal Tapia de Veer returns with his score aided by Kim Neundorf and Xavier Grobet is in charge of an excellent camera team who make Sicily look gorgeous.
Perfect escapism.
4 stars plus
A very complex business which is no easy feat to put onto the screen and which I think would bore most viewers. You do wonder why it was made. If you stick with it, the messy plot and double dealing gets clearer though you would not want to see it twice. Theo James
is an affable centre as the naïve UN diplomat who gets involved in all this and whose story published by the Wall Street Journal eventually blows the story public. Typically, he falls in love with a Kurdish double agent in the process (a rather glacial Belçim Bilgin).
More interesting is his dealings with boss Pasha, a UN career diplomat who is sustaining the programme and working the other side too. Ben Kingsley is the most enigmatic and authoritative here.
Then we have his enemy Christine Dupre played by Jacqueline Bisset
who runs the show on the ground in Iraq, knows the truth and is everyone’s enemy. 
Add to that, local tribal chiefs, local mafia and the like and we see just how corrupt the whole thing is. The film is to be rewarded for showing us that aspect
but its dark and turgid photography, myriad voiceovers and general lack of spark limit it as either entertainment or information.
gets a meatier part as Gere tries to make him a partner in crime in his recreation of the relationship he had with Olivia’s parents.
Although Gere is reasonable enough
, the weak story and direction means this little puff pastry gets very flaky and runs out of steam before managing to convince us of its veracity. I know there are people like this but do we need a film about them?
We even get Naomi Watts making an appearance. Some cute simulations and visual effects towards the end.
The lack of a coherent and convincing story is what prevents this from becoming more than attractive wallpaper. 
Little if any character development.
passionfilm 