English and Italians in the aftermath of the First World War are a bit like Bigfoot and unicorns, two worlds that don’t meet. Or at least so it seemed on paper, before they met on TV as customers of thePortofino hotels. This elegant villa on the Riviera of the Twenties lends its name to the six-part costume series based on the novel by JP O’Connell (Mondadori), airing on Sky Serie from 28 February. A “very British” oasis of peace where guests expect rigorous respect for made in England traditions with a tricolor touch.
The atmosphere is exclusive, almost rarefied, between nobility and English businessmen, but it hides more secrets than I want to admit. Hostess Bella Ainsworth (played by Natasha McElhone of Californication) fell in love with the location during her honeymoon with Cecil (Mark Umbers) and hasn’t wanted to leave since. After years of restoration, the destination has opened its doors, with an almost obsessive attention to “first impressions”. And yes, because in this era the dress definitely makes the monk to establish the social class of belonging.
Bella, however, well knows that the husband squanders the estate without any remorse and thus plans an arranged marriage between artist son Lucian (Oliver Dench) and a wealthy heiress. The young man, wounded in the war eight years earlier, brings physical and psychological trauma with him and lets himself be carried away by maternal impositions.
The situation is not really at the Downton Abbey because Bella has created an informal environment with the servants, starting with the cook, who often complains about the ingredients available in Italy. The idea of ​​using olive oil instead of butter sends her into crisis.
A countess, Lady Latchmere, a kind of Maggie Smith, wanders through the corridors of the mansion for that rigorous demeanor and snobbishness as rooted as it is surreal. She is accustomed to whims and whims, she says she hates alcohol but when they serve her limoncello for breakfast for digestion, passing it off as local lemonade, then she discovers her new passion for her. She plays Anna Chancellor, who gives Four weddings and a funeral onwards (thanks to the role of Hugh Grant’s ex, nicknamed “chiulo’s face”) she is a subscriber to the nuisance parts doc.
The only non-British presence is represented by the two Alban nobles, to whom Daniele Pecci (his father is Carlo) and Lorenzo Richelmy (Roberto, the son) lend their faces. Both love English culture so much that they stay in the Brit haunt with a hint of regret and a lot of admiration.
The characterization of Italic society, between the exotic and the fictional, lends itself brilliantly to frame a costume thriller with a solemn and diluted rhythm. What unites all the characters, in fact, is the tendency to feel trapped or fleeing the apparently heavenly place.
The interwoven reports on the lies, the flawless facade and the cracks in the mask show that, despite the premises, even a castle can collapse with a gust of wind if built on sand.
We are in the era of fascism and an activist risks his life for an ideal (Rocco Fasano): here, once again, it is a clash of civilizations. On the battlefield or behind the teacup, the polarization of society is battling it out.
Resistance to change is in the air. Who will win it? A hymn to second chances, therefore, to challenge the fact and decide one’s own destiny.
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Source: Vanity Fair
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