“THE BEST OFFER” is billed as an Italian suspense thriller. It is also an arty-farty one to boot.
You are able to detect a tonality of exotic mystique dressed within the film, treading precariously between the fine line of poetic loneliness and its impending gloom.
The protagonist is VIRGIL OLDMAN (GEOFFRY RUSH).
He is a supercilious middle aged auctioneer who could not care less about hurting others’ feelings.
He is very much the “lord of his own ring.”
Little does he realize that his arrogance would soon be put to test when he falls in love unbeknowst,for a mysterious woman (SYLVIA HOEKS) who will only communicate with him by phone, through closed doors.
It is a lesson for us to learn that attractive women may not what they seem. They can be deadly creatures with fangs.
This film uncovers a relentless world of shams and pretensions.
And for fans of the classical whodunit, there’s a smart plot with a twisted revelation in the end to challenge your mindset.
Either you win or lose.
Now, take your stake.
THE FILM
This is a touching tale of a middle aged art expert and auctioneer. He is an overly cultured man with few friends.
His only friend is Robert (JIM STURGESS) a young, skillful restorer of mechanical devices from any given era.
The day he turns sixty-three, Virgil receives a phone call from a young woman who asks him to handle the disposal of some family works of art.
But when Virgil comes for his first site visit, the girl fails to appear.
This happens more than once, and Virgil is tempted to bow out of what appears to be a thankless mess. But on each occasion, the elusive young woman, locked in her demented world, begs him to continue.
Now the old antique dealer’s life begins to take an unexpected turn.
It is Robert (JIM STURGESS) who shows him how to win the heart of the young woman (SYLVIA HOEKS) who is afraid of the real world.
Virgil soon finds himself traumatized by a passion that will change his grey existence forever.
FOOTNOTES
“THE BEST OFFER” is beautifully directed by GIUSEPPE TORNATORE, with a raw touch of Alfred Hitchcock.
GEOFFREY RUSH as Virgil brings a striking depth of character to an Old World mystery set against the complex backdrop of Europe’s art auctions.
He’s an art collector, but all is not what it seems.
He also has a secret room stacked with masterpieces of a certain kind, portraits of women that he’s secretly acquired with the help of an accomplice named Billy (DONALD SUTHERLAND).
GIUSEPPE TORNATORE (Cinema Paradiso) wrote and directed this romantic mystery.
The movie is beautiful shot with a lilting score by ENNIO MORRICONE.
It exposes the wasted wealth of the rich, ripping apart the facade to expose the rot and lies beneath the elegant picture. All that glitters is not gold.
In summary “THE BEST OFFER” is a brilliant tour de force storming you through a world of deception masked by the rich and pompous.
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