Genova
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Starring: Catherine Keener, Colin Firth
Details: UK / 94mins (15A).
Genova is a restrained drama about death and loss and Winterbottom avoids the cliches even though a story like this would beg him to indulge himself. Joe, Kelly and Mary rarely talk about Marianne but tragedy and the spectre of her death is never far away: the imposing alleys of the (beautifully shot) city, the seaside swim that hints at a drowning which never comes to pass, the stoned boyfriend that gives Kelly a ride home suggests an accident is imminent but it doesn't materialise. Everything here is low-key and the actors sing from the same hymn sheet: Firth is even more casual than the similarly themed And When Did You Last See Your Father?, while Holland and Haney-Jardine are cool and confident in difficult roles.
Although all this restraint and realism is good and well, Genova needed something to kick it off. There's no story as such - we just follow the three leads about the city watching what they get up to - and Winterbottom, who realises this, keeps the scenes really short and it's tactic that gives the film a pace that the story lacks.
Review by Gavin Burke
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