Synopsis
In 1951, New York poet Elizabeth Bishop travels to Rio de Janeiro to visit Mary, a college friend. The shy Elizabeth is overwhelmed by Brazilian sensuality. She is the antithesis to Mary’s dashing partner, architect Lota de Macedo Soares. Mary is jealous, but unconventional Lota is determined to have both women at all costs. This eternal triangle plays out against the backdrop of the military coup of 1964. Bishop’s moving poems are at the core of a film which lushly illustrates a crucial phase in the life of this influential Pulitzer prize-winning poet.
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Cast
- Miranda OttoElizabeth Bishop
- Glória PiresLota de Macedo Soares
- Tracy MiddendorfMary Morse
- Treat WilliamsRobert Lowell
- Marcello AiroldiCarlos Lacerda
- Lola KirkeMargaret
- Luciana SouzaJoana
- Tânia CostaDindinha
- Marianna Mac NievenMalú
Recommendations
- 70
The Hollywood Reporter
It would be hard to find two more contrasting actresses than Otto and Pires, but Barreto plays off their differences in culture and personality. - 60
Variety
Attention is retained by the commendably unhistrionic leads, who convincingly etch the pair’s enduring devotion even when passions run dry. - 60
Time Out London
The film never works out how to generate genuine dramatic fire from its material. There are convincing performances and decorative retro detail to admire, but the heart needs to beat just that bit faster – and it doesn’t manage that. - 50
San Francisco Chronicle
Despite its worthy subject, this feature by veteran Brazilian director Bruno Barreto has a bluntness that's at odds with Bishop's personality and work. - 40
The New York Times
Ms. Otto conveys a double-edged intelligence as the film’s pinched notion of “Elizabeth Bishop in Brazil,” while Ms. Pires strides about, every snap judgment and grand gesture a measure of her appeal. Both are hemmed in by direction and a screenplay that are relentlessly on point (as well as an off-the-shelf score). - 40
Los Angeles Times
Everything ultimately gives way to the stately, simplistic, inevitable pace of by-the-numbers biopics, from some woefully tinny, hit-and-run screenwriting to the usual difficulties surrounding the dramatization of an author's craft. - 38
Slant Magazine
Bruno Barreto's insistence that this pass for a product that Hollywood might have spawned smoothens a journey built on sharp edges. - 30
Village Voice
Poetry refracts life; this film can only reflect it, and tritely at that.
