When Best Offer (2013) arrived in the mail, I could not recall what it was about or why I’d added it to my list at Netflix. I’m sure the presence of the great Geoffrey Rush had something to do with it. He plays Virgil Oldman, a high end auctioneer and art expert. He lives alone, terrified of women, and spends a lot of time in a hidden room that contains wall to wall portraits of ladies. He obtained the paintings individually through a scheme with a friend, played by Donald Sutherland, whose bushy gray beard and long hair is reminiscent of Walt Whitman. Oldman is hired to liquidate the holdings of the estate of a beautiful woman in her mid 20’s, who hasn’t left her villa since she was 15, and refuses to meet face to face. The relationship of these troubled souls forms the basis of this intelligent film written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, a Sicilian who in 1988 did the screenplay for one of my all-time favorite Italian films, Cinema Paradiso. Among the works in the mansion are pieces of an 18th century robot, which is gradually reassembled as the parts are discovered, obviously a metaphor for the two lives that must be made whole. This is quiet drama that requires audience participation, a refreshing change from most movies these days. It won several international awards, but received no Oscar nominations. I think it is far superior to the five 2013 Best Picture nominees I’ve seen. I thought the same of The Book Thief and August: Osage County. 37,500+ contributors have rated Best Offer at IMDb, forging to a consensus of 7.9 of ten. On a scale of five, I rate it four. Sylvia Hoeks, who is Dutch, plays the paranoid young woman. Philip Jackson, a veteran Brit character actor I’ve seen on at least five shows broadcast on PBS, lends able support. Ennio Morricone did the score. I did not pause the disc the entire running time of 2:11. My only quibble is the lack of close captioning.
Each day an elderly gentleman stops by the floating book shop to tell me a silly joke. Here’s an example: “What do they call tuberculosis in Ireland? O’TB.”
Rosemary stopped by, on the point of tears. A couple of weeks ago she decided to pull up all her rugs, which unleashed a swarm of termites and beetles. Her furniture all has to be thrown away. All I could do was give her a shoulder rub. Joan, who must be in her late 60's, passed. Her mid 30's son is getting married Sunday. She had her nails and toenails done in pink up the street at the Chinese shop, the first time she'd paid for it, hadn't done it herself. Even her lipstick was that shade. It looked nice. I asked her to get me Jill Hennesey's phone number. The former Law & Order ADA is related to the bride-to-be. Unfortunately, she's already married to an Italian.
Book-selling was so good today I was able to offer discounts and reduce the load in my car by two full bags. There now remain six in the front and back seats. Thanks, folks.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
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