I wish I could work on my writing like Michael Winterbottom works on his filmmaking, this man must have trouble leading a life away from his job having made over 1 film a year since he began making feature films, unsurprisingly his films are a mixed bag, some are home runs (see: Wonderland, Welcome to Sarajevo, 24 Hour Party People, Tristram Shandy, the parts of A Mighty Heart that don't feature Angelina Jolie), others are interesting failures (see: 9 Songs), and others just aren't very good (see: Code 46, With or Without You, the parts of A Mighty Heart that feature Angelina Jolie), but based on the overall strength, everything that Michael Winterbottom does is a must see for me, and even with some negative word swirling around it I couldn't help but see 'Genova', and the film was neither here nor there for me, I liked watching it but I wasn't bowled over and wouldn't see it again, the similarities to 'Don't Look Now' certainly must be acknowledged as every critic seems to, and as Michael Winterbottom himself has, and I don't really care, every filmmaker has his influences, Winterbottom undoubtedly creates a city in the film, Genova as it is depicted rings true, a lively city, an energetic city, and a city that can be forbodding in its maze of streets and a mournful city, very few filmmakers can accurately depict what a city is like, Winterbottom seems entirely able, Winterbottom draws fantastic performances all round, particularly a mature and nunanced performance from the very young Perla Haney-Jardine, all characters are entirely believable in their reactions to events and each other, the film faults lie in Winterbottom's unapparent intention with the film, one can't be sure exactly what he is trying to achieve here, and maybe this was another unsuccessful experiment by the director, but that's fine, he needs that for the home runs.
