Calendar Girl Meets Her Match

I really enjoyed Helen Mirren in Calendar Girls. She played her role as the ringleader of the middle aged nude calendar models, with a winning combination of wit and dignity. She takes on a similar, but more serious, role in the 2003 Post World War II romantic drama, The Roman Spring Of Mrs. Stone. This film is based on Tennessee Williams' first novel, and is a remake of the 1961 film starring Vivien Leigh and Warren Beatty. I have not seen the original, but this film, which premiered on Showtime, again showcases Mirren's enormous talent, and also a few nude scenes of her aging, yet still attractive, physique.

The story of a wealthy middle- aged woman's obsession with a handsome young gigolo is hardly new material, but Director Robert Allan Ackerman, (Safe Passage) uses the ancient beauty of the eternal city, to help create a somewhat ominous atmosphere, of forbidden fruit. The Spanish steps, the Coliseum, the Parthenon, and sweeping rooftop panoramas of the city, create a sensual and sumptuous background for this poignant, bittersweet, if somewhat melodramatic, romantic period film.

Karen Stone (Helen Mirren) decides to retire from a mediocre Broadway career due to her wealthy husband Tom's, (Brian Dennehy) failing health. Karen adores her husband despite the fact that his illness has prevented him from fulfilling her sexual desires for quite some time. While on vacation in Italy, Tom suffers a fatal heart attack, and Karen, overtaken by grief and loneliness, strikes up a friendship with a curious acquaintance, referred to in her social circle, as The Contessa. (Anne Bancroft)

Unbeknownst to Karen, The Contessa is a high class pimp, who makes her living supplying handsome young gigolos to wealthy, aging, widows. The Contessa arranges for Karen to meet several handsome young men, none of whom capture her attention. However, when the Contessa introduces Karen to Paolo di Lio, (Olivier Martinez) they become engaged in a passionate affair, and for Karen, an obsession. Despite warnings from her transient gay friend Christopher, (Roger Allam) Karen goes to extreme lengths to make herself more desirable, showering Paolo with expensive clothes, coloring her hair, and caking on layers of make-up. In response, Paolo, feeling smothered, becomes increasingly moody and petulant, until The Contessa is eventually exposed, and Paolo's unscrupulous affections are discovered.

Throughout the film, Ackerman adds a bit of suspense by introducing a mysterious character; an alluring, but filthy and unkempt young man, (Rodrigo Santoro) who approaches Karen, as if mocking her, in various scenes throughout the film. As in some type of Greek tragedy, he appears to be the symbol of fate, that awaits her, at the end of her tragic romance. On the downside, Ackerman, at times, resorts to maudlin melodrama, as Karen is transformed from an obsessive romantic into an infuriated scorned lover, after overhearing The Contessa bragging about her gullibility to friends.

Mirren displays her formidable acting skills, as she captures both her character's quiet grace, self-delusion, and ravenous appetite to satisfy her last fleeting chance at carnal pleasure, as she delivers the line, "all throughout my career I managed to avoid the lure of drugs, and now I know the true meaning of addiction." Olivier Martinez' charismatic, intense, stage presence and physical beauty are mesmerizing, despite his limited acting skills, as he recreates his ravishing role from Unfaithful. Despite the discrepancy in their ages, the two actors display enough on screen chemistry to make their affair believable, with several steamy, partially nude, sex scenes. Anne Bancroft plays her juicy role as The Contessa with her usual slightly over the top, patrician flair. Roger Allam adds a much needed pinch of comic relief as the effeminate Southern gentleman who serves as Karen's confidant.

Both Mirren and the film, were nominated for Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress and Best Miniseries or TV Movie respectively, for this film. The production values are impeccable, featuring glorious costumes and elegant photography. Although I would hardly call it a classic, this film is definitely worth a view for fans of romantic period dramas. I must say, however, that I enjoyed Mirren's role in Calendar Girls much more. She may have met her match in The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone, but she is much more appealing as a feisty calendar model, than a victim of romantic obsession.