The Best Offer

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The Best Offer (Italian: La migliore offerta - entitled Deception in the UK) is a 2013 Italian romantic mystery film written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. The film stars Geoffrey Rush, Jim Sturgess, Sylvia Hoeks, and Donald Sutherland, and the music score is composed by Ennio Morricone.

Synopsis

The film tells a story of love and deceit, set in Europe (Trieste, Bolzano, Fidenza, Rome, Milan, Merano, Vienna, Prague) in the world of high-end art auctions and antiques. The story revolves around Virgil Oldman (Geoffrey Rush), an aging and esteemed, but somewhat eccentric, managing director of an auction house. Oldman is hired by a reclusive young heiress, Claire Ibbetson (Sylvia Hoeks), to auction off the large collection of art and antiques left to her by her parents. Claire always refuses to be seen in person, obviously suffering from severe agoraphobia and never leaving her room. Soon enough Virgil, a life-long bachelor, understands that he has fallen in love with her.

An astute young artificer, Robert (Jim Sturgess), aids Oldman in restoring and reassembling some odd mechanical parts that he finds amongst Claire's belongings, while also giving him advice on how to befriend her, and how to deal with his feelings towards her. Oldman's poise and prestige are counterpointed by an ongoing scam whereby his friend Billy Whistler (Donald Sutherland) helps him acquire a large private collection of master paintings. Oldman eventually begins a relationship with Ibbetson, compromising his work.

At the peak of the relationship, Claire overcomes her fear of the outside world and goes on to live with Virgil, who trusts the fragile Claire enough to show her his secret priceless collection of portraits. Virgil returns home one day to find that his entire collection and Claire are gone, realising that he was just a part of an elaborate fraud. After months of recovering from the ultimate betrayal, Virgil takes a trip to Prague, where he spends time sitting in a restaurant that Claire had once suggested, waiting alone at a table.

Cast

  • Geoffrey Rush as Virgil Oldman, prestigious auctioneer
  • Jim Sturgess as Robert, tinkerer and mechanical repairman
  • Sylvia Hoeks as Claire Ibbetson, reclusive heiress
  • Donald Sutherland as Billy Whistler, artist; friend of Virgil's who helps him at auctions
  • Philip Jackson as Fred, caretaker of the Ibbetson mansion
  • Dermot Crowley as Lambert (Virgil's main assistant)
  • Liya Kebede as Sarah, Robert's girlfriend
  • Maximilian Dirr as Virgil's Assistant
  • Laurence Belgrave as Virgil's Assistant
  • Sean Buchanan as Virgil's Assistant
  • Kiruna Stamell as Claire, woman in the bar who keeps count of things
  • Anton Alexander as Real Estate Agent
  • John Benfield as Barman
  • Miles Richardson as Steirereck Maitre
  • James Patrick Conway as Steirereck Manager
  • Brigitte Christensen as First Daughter

Production

The film was produced by Paco Cinematografica with support from the FVG (Friuli Venezia Giulia) Film Fund. Filming began in Trieste on April 30, 2012. For Tornatore this meant a return to Trieste: it was here he shot La Sconosciuta in 2005, with Xenia Rappoport. Filming took place in a period of five to six weeks in the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Vienna, Prague, and South Tyrol.[4]

Reception

Critical response

The Best Offer received mixed reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a score of 56%, with an average rating of 5.9/10, based on reviews from thirty-two critics.[5] On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 49 (out of 100), based on reviews from 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[6] Andrew Pulver of The Guardian rated it 2/5 stars and called it "stiff" and "convoluted".[7] Philippa Hawker of The Age rated it 3/5 stars and called it "handsome, yet austere".[8] Sandra Hall of the Brisbane Times rated it 4/5 stars and praised Geoffrey Rush's acting.[9] Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter called it "astutely written".[10] Variety called the film "superficial" and "cliched", but predicted box office success.[1]

Box office

On the Italian opening weekend, the film grossed $2,496,402 from 373 theaters and debuted at number 2 on the box office chart, behind Mai Stati Uniti. It grossed $12,021,662 domestically and $8,468,038 overseas for a worldwide gross of $20,489,700.[2][3]

Accolades

Awards
Award Category Recipients and nominees Result
58th David di Donatello Awards[11] Best Film Giuseppe Tornatore Won
Best Director Giuseppe Tornatore Won
Best Script Giuseppe Tornatore Nominated
Best Producer Isabella Cocuzza and Arturo Paglia Nominated
Best Cinematography Fabio Zamarion Nominated
Best Sets and Decorations Maurizio Sabatini and Raffaella Giovannetti Won
Best Costumes Maurizio Millenotti Won
Best Makeup Luigi Rocchetti Nominated
Best Hairstyling Stefano Ceccarelli Nominated
Best Editing Massimo Quaglia Nominated
Best Sound Gilberto Martinelli Nominated
Best Score Ennio Morricone Won
Youngs' David Giuseppe Tornatore Won
67th Silver Ribbon Awards[12] Best Director Giuseppe Tornatore Won
Best Producer Isabella Cocuzza and Arturo Paglia Won
Best Screenplay Giuseppe Tornatore Nominated
Best Cinematography Fabio Zamarion Nominated
Best Scenography Maurizio Sabatini and Raffaella Giovannetti Won
Best Costumes Maurizio Millenotti Won
Best Editor Massimo Quaglia Won
Best Sound Gilberto Martinelli Nominated
Best Score Ennio Morricone Won
53rd Italian Golden Globe[13] Best Cinematography Fabio Zamarion Nominated
Best Music Ennio Morricone Nominated
26th European Film Awards Best Film Giuseppe Tornatore Nominated
Best Director Giuseppe Tornatore Nominated
Best Screenwriter Giuseppe Tornatore Nominated
Best Composer Ennio Morricone Won
People's Choice Award Giuseppe Tornatore Nominated

References

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External links

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