“The ending was particularly strong and ought to leave you thinking about what you’ve just witnessed long after seeing it”
by Nav Qateel
I can’t remember the last romance film I enjoyed so completely, and is easily the best this year, but perhaps being middle-aged helps love this movie even more. I’m sure we’ve all had “what if” scenarios at some time in our lives, I know I have, and really got a lot out of At Middleton. I would normally avoid a straight romantic movie like the plague, but Vera Farmiga is all I need to know when it comes time to decide if I want to see a film, then having Andy Garcia and Vera’s li’l sister Taissa Farmiga playing her daughter made it a must-see. There isn’t any one thing I could point to and say why I find At Middleton such a strong and amusing film, it’s just, as a whole package it works wonderfully, with good acting and writing; some great music from Emmy-winner. Arturo Sandoval. and was akin to watching Lost in Translation for the first time, which is one of my all-time fave’s; that’s how much I enjoyed it. It was more about the intimacy of At Middleton than just the actual tale itself.
- At Middleton
- Co-Written and Directed by
Adam Rodgers - Cast
Vera Farmiga, Andy Garcia, Taissa Farmiga, Spencer Lofranco - Release Date
31 January 2014 - Nav’s Grade: A
Cinematographer Emmanuel Kadosh is an Andy Garcia regular, with the story from Adam Rogers and Glenn German. The pair have worked together before, on a TV movie titled Racing for Time, and they appear to work together rather well. Garcia’s daughter Daniella Garcia had a nice scene with her father and Vera, where George and Edith sneak into a small projector room in an attempt to steal a kiss. Father and daughter and the two sisters helped make this movie feel quite intimate, even when it wasn’t trying to be, which I think people will respond to when watching At Middleton, and makes this film so appealing.
The sexy Vera Farmiga is one of those actors who looks and acts great, and has a definite screen presence that I particularly like, and she’s been on a roll (no pun intended) recently, with The Conjuring and the first season of the excellent Bates Motel to add to her already growing list of successes. Taissa Farmiga (The Bling Ring) was good in American Horror Story but she gets to show some range in At Middleton that was only glimpsed in the TV show. First-timer, Spencer Lofranco, played Conrad, son of Garcia’s George, well, and has chosen a very good movie to debut in.
With obvious chemistry, both Garcia and Farmiga, previous Oscar-nominees, bring their collective chops and nuanced styles to this movie with such panache. At Middleton had a bit of everything needed in a romantic film and put a lot of other rom-coms to shame, with excellent humor, both written and visual. We had references to classic French films and literature to remind us this isn’t the usual fodder we normally get from Hollywood, but rather, an intelligent and well produced movie that will substantially outlast the others. The ending was particularly strong and ought to leave you thinking about what what you’ve just witnessed long after seeing it, and while I don’t want to spoil it for you, it was a refreshing change. Watch out for Peter Riegert and Tom Skerritt, who both have small but important roles. At Middleton was a joy to watch and a film I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending.
