The Etruscan Smile is based on a bestselling novel that I’ll never read. I guess I’m not at the age where elderly men leaving their private islands to cure their ills appeals to me. The cast is really solid with Golden Age Union Jack, Monkey Trouble’s Thora Birch and Rosanna Arquette supporting Brian Cox. But, how is this film different than literally the army of similar productions released between the dawn of American film and the present?
Brian Cox is a grand talent that has only start coming into mainstream appeal in the last 15-20 years. It’s a shame, as the man has a decades long career where he has dominated on every stage known to Man or Wolf. Watching Cox connect with his family is interesting but predictable. Still, I loved seeing Thora Birch as his daughter.
I appreciated seeing Thora Birch back in bigger movies. For awhile there, she seemed like she was going to explode out of Kid Movies and enter Adult Cinema. Not that kind of Adult Cinema, even though she would be Second Generation Royalty there. But, she shows a talent that was lost after that terrible Dungeons and Dragons feature film.
The Etruscan Smile Blu-ray comes with no special features. But, the A/V Quality is decently solid. Everything feels like it has a soft or yellow filter. Maybe that’s the European equivalent of America’s over saturation of teal in our films. Oh well, it’s worth a rental.
