Light in the Piazza (1962)

Touches You

Sadly Over-hyped

Absolutely Fantastic

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Pretty awful story of an Italian lothario pursuing what is basically a ten-year-old female - all with his family's good wishes. Supposedly by marrrying the lothario, the female will have a good life with plenty of servants, loving in-laws, and lots of money so that makes everything okay. Seems like nothing was thought about the emotional damage that might occur from a ten-year-old having sex with a man, understanding, pregnancy giving birth and being too much of a child to have any hope of ever being a "mother" to any children. And you have to wonder how long a grown man will be able to sustain interest in a child-wife who has no intellectual ability and that you can't take out for cocktails. But, no matter, mama has found a way out from the lifelong responsibility of the daughter so yippie all around.

When we speak of 'tone' in cinema or literature -- this is one to study.There is a scene midway through 'Light in the Piazza' where Yvette Mimieux, as a brain-damaged glamorous girl, fits right in with the teenage smart set of Florence: she can talk hair, make-up, and movie stars with the best of them -- and is a natural star as she twirls in her chic summer outfit. This is but one great moment in the expert script by Julius J. Epstein, from the book by Elizabeth Spencer. It strikes me as a very modern film on my recent first viewing (2017).Olivia de Havilland is an affluent American vacationing in sunny Italy with her special-needs daughter, acting as companion and devoted guardian. The girl turns the head (and why not?) of a goofy, obsessive handsome boy from a wealthy Florentine family -- and a grand romance begins. But should it?-- Olivia contemplates the question for a splendidly entertaining hour and a half or so -- amid pretty people in pretty clothes in pretty locations.This is a daring film from a daring book -- and succeeds because the comedy is both broad (George Hamilton -- hilarious -- as the boy, and Yvette Mimieux as the girl share *superb* comic timing and *perfect* chemistry), and subtle (de Havilland with Rossano Brazzi as the boy's father -- both wise and vulnerable -- and *randy*). The laughs are abundant -- deep laughs -- I think because as one enjoys what for all appearances is a sunny romantic comedy, the genre is turned on its head as one is constantly reminded of the central human problem of the story: what are the ethics involved when a young adult diagnosed 'with the mind of a child' naturally desires romance and sex with a 'normal' (and sincere) young adult?I've always enjoyed Olivia d. in the company of stronger performers in the old Hollywood hurley-burley, but usually find her acting a bit on the general attitudinizing side. Here, smart director Guy Green gives Ms. d. opportunity and *time* to embody an intelligent, capable person navigating uncharted circumstances. Much of the film comprises her silent reactions -- and this old screen pro knows how to make conflicting thoughts babble and blurt behind an elegant exterior as she swings from gravitas to giddy and all the rest.Green's handling of everybody in the cast is skilled and perceptive: Hamilton especially astonishes, but Mimieux and everybody else involved are spot on.

I saw Light in the Piazza ten years ago and gave it 4/10 then and since saw IMDb's score and thought I should see it again. When it came on TCM I re-watched it, to see if time and maturity on my part would be more kind to it.Normally, Americans vacationing in either Paris or Italy are an instant turn-off for me (unless it's Roman Holiday). There is an added moral sinew to this one and so, despite the frothy music and never ending over-polite native service staff, there is an extra dimension to this travelogue. Some have cited that the sunny widescreen vistas are the only real reason to see Light in the Piazza and it is possible to switch off the dialogue and gently dream of such, if one so wishes.That extra muscle in the body of this film might seem a minor dilemma except to those afflicted, for whom it must be all consuming. Not being a parent, it could be difficult for me to sympathise with Olivia de Haviland's continual fussing over her brain damaged daughter, damage which only manifests itself in social situations as she has the mental age of a ten year old, yet is sexy, blonde and vivacious enough to turn the heads of young, virulent men. Including one Italian young man, Fabrizio, who is in actual fact American George Hamilton, turning up the accent to annoying levels and this miscasting effectively kills the film for me. Every time he pops up, which is often, I want to throw something at the screen because of this falsity. But, as the flirting couple get ever closer, the question as to whether to call off the holiday early, forbid Clara (the daughter) in seeing her beau or to simply let it run its course, whatever the outcome is dealt with gently but in some detail by de Haviland, her working, absent businessman husband and others. Not boringly done, but a definite sidetrack if one only wanted a vacant sights-show.To reveal which of the three courses that I outlined de Haviland chooses would necessitate a spoiler and so you'll have to see it for yourself. There are worse things to waste time on, but you may feel rather uneasy that you had.

MGM deserves credit for producing a magnificent film The Light In The Piazza starring a classic star Olivia De Havilland and featuring two of MGM's brightest contract stars George Hamilton and as the key player in the film Yvette Mimieux as a learning disabled Girl who for the first time is treated like an adult and is romanced by a handsome man who because of the language barriers does not realize her disabilities. A remarkable film beautifully filmed in Italy by the fine director Guy Green. Having seem this film I am going to review and study more of Mr. Green's films. Of course it goes without saying that Olivia De Havilland often nominated and winner of 2 Oscars gives a brilliant performance of Yvette Mimieux's mother. George Hamilton is fine as the Lothario. A courageous film and a credit to the MGM Studio