It centers on Emma (Tilda Swinton from “Julia” and “Michael Clayton”), an unhappily married middle-aged woman with an empty life. Emma, a Russian immigrant, married into the wealthy aristocratic Recchi family of Milan. The movie opens with an elegant dinner celebrating the birthday of family patriarch Edoardo Sr. He has decided to retire from his massive textile business and name a successor to run the company. He surprises everyone by splitting power between his son (Emma’s husband) Tancredi and grandson (Emma’s son) Edo.

Edo brings a shy girl named Eva to the meal. He had just lost a race to strikingly handsome Antonio who turns out to be a talented chef. Antonio comes to the door bringing a cake. Edo introduces Antonio to his mom. Some months later, Edo and Antonio become best friends and they make plans to open a restaurant. Edo wants Antonio to cater a birthday party for Eva. He intends to ask Eva to marry him.

A subplot revolves around Emma discovering that her daughter Betta, a painter, is a lesbian. More time passes and a scene takes place at a restaurant where Antonio is the head chef. Emma is having lunch with her son’s fiancée Eva and her mother-in-law Rori, now a widow since Edoardo Sr. has died. Emma orders prawns with ratatouille in a sweet and sour sauce. The hand-held camera focuses on Emma’s lips and eyes as she relishes every delectable bite. Antonio comes to their table and welcomes them. He tells them that he grows his own vegetables in the countryside near San Remo.

More time passes. Emma stops off at San Remo on her way to Betta’s art exhibition in Nice. She is walking along and looks up at an Orthodox church which symbolizes her roots in Russia. She then spots Antonio carrying a bag of vegetables. She follows him and ultimately they bump into each other outside a bookstore. They take a scenic ride to his remote spot in the countryside. The sights and sounds of nature are all around them. They end up making love.

This adulterous affair comes to light at an important business dinner once again prepared by Antonio. A tragedy results in the death of another member of the Recchi family.

The movie is badly edited with poor disjointed transitions making it impossible to discern how much time has passed. The camera lingers too long on certain scenes and the pace bogs down to a slow crawl. Long stretches of the movie are dialogue-free and boredom sets in as you lose interest in the undeveloped characters.

Besides a shared love for cooking, the lust-driven coupling of Emma and Antonio seems to come out of thin air. The most explicit outdoor sex scene is not the least bit erotic or romantic.

The camera is out of focus on several occasions.

The interior decorating and set designs are splendid. You can almost smell the money as you tour every room and the grounds of the Recchi villa. The musical score comprised of several operatic works by Pulitzer Prize winning composer John Adams is overwhelming.

Daytime television serials such as “The Young and the Restless” and “Days of Our Lives” are more adept at telling an attention-grabbing story with interesting subplots and complex characters that you can either love or hate.

The dialogue is in Italian with English subtitles. Now playing exclusively at the Leawood and the Tivoli in Westport.

Review By:
Keith Cohen "The Movie Guy"