To Rome With Love isn`t so much a singular narrative, rather than four completely unrelated comedic sketches that take place in the titular city. The stories start off innocently enough: young American tourist (Alison Pill) meets Roman fiance (Flavio Parenti) and undergoes some in-law difficulties when her parents (Allen and Davis) come to town. A relatively successful architect (Baldwin) meets a young student (Eisenberg) who uncannily reminds him of himself, particularly due to a complicated love triangle between the student`s girlfriend (Greta Gerwig) and her best friend (Page). A young Italian lady (Alessandra Mastonardi) gets lost in the city, with improbable consequences for herself and her fiance (Alessandro Tiberian). An everyman (Benigni) becomes famous for reasons mysterious both to him and the audience.
The beauty of To Rome With Love, however, comes from Woody Allen`s immaculate ability to take these everyday premises and turn them into sketches of surreal humour. We`re not going to spoil the surprises for you: but there`s time travel of a sort, a ludicrous bedroom scenario involving a burglar and a celebrity, and opera being performed in a portable shower; Allen`s deft hand allows us to be led into these moments of magical realism with complete suspension of disbelief.
Much of the film`s appeal comes from the immaculate casting, with Allen choosing the perfect actor to portray each of his myriad roles, whether it`s Ellen Page as the dysfunctionally attractive actress, Alessandro Tiberian as the mousy husband or Roberto Benigni as the put-upon office worker. The characters are archetypes, yet Allen`s treatment allows the audience to view them with both empathy and genuine affection.
More of a series of sketches than a complete narrative, To Rome With Love is a charming, beautifully shot number. It may be slightly haphazard in narrative execution, and the serious-minded may consider it trivial, but the film pretty much embodies why we go to the movies or on a vacation: to escape, to be enriched with levity, and to be entertained.
Summary: 2/3rds vacation, 1/3rd absurdism
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Raphael Lim