Whatever is wrong with this movie, it's not the acting.
I would have watched this movie for its entire two hours just to see the beautiful Greek island scenery and some of my favorite actors. Olivia Colman and Ed Harris are just so interesting and believable. Directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, this 2021 film was set in Italy but actually filmed in Greece. What was this movie about? Well, it was about what happens when you don’t get enough love from your mother as a child… told from your mother’s point of view. And SPOILER ALERT: Your mother eventually goes on vacation and forgives herself. But not before indulging in a pity party and some awkward flirting. Can you tell I wasn’t entirely buying this movie? Still, I watched every minute of it and even watched some of the scenes twice. That’s partly because Olivia Colman delivers lines like Mohammad Ali throws punches and Ed Harris is charming even when you know his hands smell like octopus. It’s also because I had a hard time figuring out what the Hell Olivia Colman (Leda) was doing, ruining a perfectly good island vacation with too much baggage, literally and figuratively. In one of this movie’s most poignant scenes, Leda tells a pregnant woman: Children are a crushing responsibility. Drop the mic. Colman knows how to turn a character inside out. But, when does self-examination become selfish? Keep watching. You’ll see.
