In cinema, old age is often portrayed as sad and depressing. For his first American film (adapted from the novel The Seeker – Happiness by Michael Zadoorian), the Italian director Paolo Virzi does the opposite and delivers us with The Beautiful Escape a crazy adventure where an old sick couple flees by motorhome on the long and beautiful roads of the East Coast of the United States.
A funny and touching story
It all begins one morning when, in order to escape the hospitalization that awaits them, Ella and John Spencer, decide without warning anyone to take the road aboard their old caravan. Throughout their journey, the two protagonists will strive to pass for an old couple on vacation, carefully concealing the cancer of madam and Alzheimer's of monsieur. Paolo Virzi has fun subtly flirting with the comic and absurd situations caused by John's memory loss and the tragedy in Ella's eyes that the end is near. Like Rob Reener's film Without Further Delay (2007), The Beautiful Escape is a sweet and amusing rebellion against forced hospitalization, which takes the opportunity to point the finger at death with dignity.
Past – Present – Future?
The past is the anchor of the film, but also its driving force. The life of Ella and John seems to be reborn through the soundtrack that evolves from 70s rock to classic soaring tablecloths, through childish music. In addition, Paolo Virzi achieves the tour de force by using John's illness to teach viewers about previous events. The caravan of the two protagonists is renamed "the seeker-happiness" and this perfectly sums up the state of mind of this final crossing of America and their memories. Sometimes the camera films in wide shot the caravan rolling in search of a distant land like a dream. Sometimes she captures in close-up the marked and suffering faces of the couple, bringing us back to reality.
Actors at the top
The duo Mirren / Sutherland, reunited after 27 years (Bethune: The Making of a Hero, 1990) carries the film alone. Donald plays an endearing and very cultured character, former French teacher and great fan of Ernest Hemingway. Throughout the film, he must oscillate between seriousness and ridiculousness to get as close as possible to the insanity of the character and he does it with such humility that we never feel the slightest pathos. As for Hellen, she is remarkable as a devoted woman, coquettish but very sick. She is imbued with an exemplary and magnificent determination, especially at the end of the film, where the couple shines and their love seems immortal.
The couple Hellen Mirren / Donald Sutherland excels and transports us on a final journey where the memory of happy days and the beautiful but vain concealment of the disease are mixed.So much finesse and ingenuity on the part of Paolo Virzi to tell us about this improbable trip tinged with nostalgia and love, a lot of love!
Trailer The Beautiful Escape:
