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The Roman Spring Of Mrs. Stone (DVD)
Year: 2003
Rating: M
Director: Robert Allan Ackerman
Cast: Anne Bancroft, Olivier Martinez, Helen Mirren
Release Date: January 05, 2011
Distributor: Beyond
The Film: 2.0
FILMINK rates DVDs and Blu-rays out of 5"...flat, predictable TV movie..."
Not even Helen Mirren and Anne Bancroft can rescue the flat, predictable TV movie that is The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone.
Based on a 1950 Tennessee Williams novel, the story follows Karen Stone, an over the hill and under-talented Broadway actress who retires from the stage and travels to Rome, where she becomes the target of a Contessa (Anne Bancroft in one of her last roles before passing away in 2005) and her stable of handsome gigolos (including Olivier Martinez) trained to seduce and shake down lonely rich ladies.
Paling in comparison to the screen adaptations of Williams' other work, like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and A Streetcar Named Desire, the script moves along so ploddingly and the romance is so bloodless, it's impossible to become emotionally invested in Mrs. Stone's quest for young love.
The only breath of fresh air is Bancroft, who shows off her versatility as she vacillates between comic relief and scary fascist.
