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The Leisure Seeker, Italy/France, 2017. Directed by P. Virzì, written with S. Amidon, F. Archibugi, F. Piccolo (from the novel by M. Zadoorian). With Helen Mirren, Donald Sutherland. Original music by C. Virzì. Length: 112′. Rated: R.

Ella and John have been married for a lifetime and now both have reached an age where the only thing to do is fulfill one or two dreams left behind in their lives. This is the reason why they jump on their RV, called the Leisure Seeker, and from Boston they ride all the west coast down to Key West, to visit the house where one of John’s favorite authors lived, Ernest Hemingway. 

With no doubt about the immense allegorical power embedded in the movie, “The Leisure Seeker” is a delicate fairy tale with all the ingredients of a dramatic and sad story about the fading of life. And the softness given by all its ingredients cannot be too unexpected even in an English production such as this if the author is Paolo Virzì, one of the most talented Italian directors, who can finally confront himself with a great international audience.
Since the movie’s first screening at the 2017 Venice Film Festival, Virzì has got a great number of positive reactions; in the screenplay he (and his co-writers) clearly made a huge effort to transpose the novel from which the story is taken into a movie that can say a lot to every old couple in the world. From Disneyland (the couple’s destination in the book) Virzì decides to transform the journey into a long-lasting literary quote, from Hemingway to Melville, from Joyce to Mitchell. In this sense, the only mistake seems to be getting a little stuck in a couple of completely out-of-the-blue gags, like Trump’s electoral campaign, and some almost dark-humor ones, with gun-pointed disputes; anyway, the emphasis of the movie remains where it should be, on the ‘time that remains’ to the two characters more than on the end of their earthly time.

The greatest achievement of the movie is probably getting another two memorable characters from these two fantastic actors: Virzì’s delicate but firm hand and Sutherland’s and Mirren’s outstanding class blend together to black out any other character, or storyline, in the movie: everything is about them, and they are everything the movie wants to say. Their aging process, their health issues, their passions, their love for each other: both Sutherland and Mirren play their role in such a personal and powerful way that the touching result (most of all towards the end of the movie) makes the viewer ignore the little imperfections in the screenplay mentioned above.

Composer Carlo Virzì should also be given some credit: he understands the tone that his brother wanted to give and goes along with him, with more songs than music, where lyrics are only another feature to settle the delicate but sad atmosphere throughout the story.

Anyway, in conclusion, this is no real ‘masterpiece’, at least seen analytically.  But from the emotional point of view, this is one of the best movies recently, worth to be seen: at least let’s settle for a good ranking in the recent Italian movie production, if not in the wide American industry.

DOWNLOAD REVIEW IN PDF: The Leisure Seeker, 2017

LEGGI LA RECENSIONE IN ITALIANO: Ella & John – Recensione