The City of Your Final Destination

I,for one,have always admired Merchant/Ivory productions for it's bravura for taking classic (and even some not so classic)novels,and bringing them to the screen. Despite the sad passing of Ismael Merchant a few years back,James Ivory,and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala have made going to the movies a joy (for the most part). Granted,James Ivory has directed his share of mis-steps (but who hasn't?). This film was actually produced three years ago,but is just now getting distribution. The story focuses on a professor of literature at an un-named college,named Omar Metwally who is trying to get the legal okay to write a biography of an author who only had one novel ever published. Problem is,the family of the author is flatly refusing permission for the novel to be written. When he decides to travel to South America to meet with the family to get permission (not a good idea),he finds out what a dysfunctional family they are (and also finds out the dirty little family secrets,as well as any & all skeletons in the proverbial family closet). When Omar's overbearing girl friend,Deirdre arrives to check on Omar's progress,things get more interesting. James Ivory directs a screenplay written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala,adapted from the novel by Peter Cameron. The sumptuous photography is courtesy of the ever so fine Javier Aguirresarobe,with editing by John David Allen. The film's musical score is composed & arranged by Jorge Drexler. The great Sir Anthony Hopkins,who is given top credit,is Adam,an aged gay man,living in the shadows of the past,as is his sister in law,Caroline,who gets by with sardonic wit & daily doses of alcohol,played by Laura Linney,who just smacks of queen harpie. Omar Razaghi is Omar Metwally,who is the centre of all of this. Charlotte Gainsbourg,most recently seen in Lars Van Trier's 'Antichrist',is Arden Langdon,a hanger on,as well as an Au Pair to Caroline's daughter. The rest of the cast is rounded out by Hiroyuke Sanada,as Pete,Adam's live in lover,Alexandra Maria Lara,as Dierdre,a pushy,bossy,overbearing woman who seems to be planning Omar's life,and the great Norma Aleandro (not seen enough in this film),as Mrs. Van Euwen,who is always on the make for a romantic fling with just about any man who will acknowledge her. All of this makes for an intelligent & entertaining evening at the movies. Spoken (mostly)in English,and Spanish with English subtitles. Rated PG-13 by the MPAA,for some brief nudity & adult content

This adaptation of Peter Cameron's 2002 novel is the first film from director James Ivory (he's 82 this year by the way) after the passing of his longtime producing partner Ismail Merchant. Over the past two decades, the Merchant-Ivory name was a brand of literary cinema in itself, from which acclaimed works such as "The Remains of the Day" and "Howard's End" were spawned.

Unfortunately, this reportedly final film from James ivory will not be remembered in the same light as those aforementioned films- because as much as it tries its best to evoke the same literary feel, this solo venture by James Ivory is too genteel, too wandering, and ultimately too bland to make much of an impact. And that is despite the efforts by a fine cast- the likes of thespian Anthony Hopkins, Laura Linney and French actress Charlotte Gainsburg.

In adapting Cameron's novel, longtime Merchant-Ivory screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala keeps her focus on the academic Omar Razaghi (Omar Metwally), a University of Kansas English graduate student who journeys down to Uruguay to meet the family of the late minor novelist Jules Gund. Omar wants to write a biography of the late author- and his academic and financial future depend on it- but the family has thus far refused their permission.

Ivory gets the events leading up to Omar's unannounced visit at the Gund estate over and done with quickly, and leaves the rest of the film for his audience to get to know the eccentricities of the Gund family. There, Omar meets Jules' imperious widow, Caroline (Linney), and his mistress Arden (Gainsburg) and her daughter Portia (Ambar Mallman). Not forgetting of course Jules' older brother Adam (Hopkins) and his Japanese lover Pete (Hiroyuki Sanada).

Jhabvala's screenplay allows Omar to have plenty of interactions with each one of the Gund family, but these largely lack much sizzle. The most interesting of these is the tension between Omar and Caroline, the widow bristling with hostility especially when she sees how Arden is taking too quickly to Omar. The romance between Omar and Arden however turns out too nondescript, while Omar's talks with Adam mostly centre on Jules' legacy- an unfinished novel and a mysterious suicide. An accident leads to the arrival of Omar's domineering girlfriend (Alexandra Maria Lara), but even this turn of events doesn't quite set the drama afire.

Neither does the ensemble cast for that matter. Hopkins is good as always, but his role is hardly much of a stretch for him. Ditto for Linney, who gives the film's sharpest performance as the brittle and thorny widow eager to hide some family secrets. Metwally on the other hand is woefully miscast, his genial performance undermining what potential dramatic moments the film has going for it.

Admittedly though there are few- and the fault ultimately lies with director James Ivory's directorial choices. There is little to suggest that we as the audience should care for any of the characters or their dilemmas, which seems trivial and insignificant. The production values here are stellar as with any Ivory film, in particular the evocative cinematography by Javier Aguirresarobe ("Talk to Her," "Vicky Cristina Barcelona")- but the storytelling is ultimately what makes this a forgettable entry in the list of Ivory films.

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James Cameron's elegant, wistful novel THE CITY OF YOUR FINAL DESTINATION has been well transitioned to the screen by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and director James Ivory: in so many ways this film brings a host of fond memories of all of the films made by the members of Merchant Ivory films. It has the same sense of grace of transporting one culture into another, of examining interpersonal relationships as they are tied to etiquette and tradition and family, and the chances we take in the name of self-fulfillment and love. It is a mood piece and a delectable offering for the brain.

Omar Razaghi (Omar Metwally) is a postgraduate student and instructor at a Colorado College, living in a tenuous relationship with Deirdre (Alexandra Maria Lara), and delaying his desire to write his PhD thesis -a proposed biography of deceased novelist Jules Gund. He is unhappy with his life, frustrated that his thesis committee will not approve of his dissertation unless he has the family of Jules Gund's permission to write the biography. After a little nudge from a colleague he decides to travel to Uruguay - without Deirdre - to gain permission from the Gund family to proceed. Deirdre, hurt because Omar wants to go without her, insists that Omar travel to Uruguay: this may his only chance to step out of the life whose rut he is in and move on to higher means.

Omar journeys to Uruguay where he meets the Gund 'family' - Gund's gay brother, Adam (Anthony Hopkins) and his lover of 25 years Pete (Hiroyuki Sanada); former wife Caroline (Laura Linney); and Arden (Charlotte Gainsbourg), Gund's mistress and mother of Gund's daughter, Portia. Though greeted with hospitality it is clear that the family, as executors of Gund's estate, refuse to give Omar permission. Omar is invited to live with the Gund's until he can make arrangements to return to the US, but the visit is extended, allowing for changes to insert in the family unity as each one slowly agrees to allow Omar to write the biography. Omar has a fall, is recovered by Arden (Deirdre flies to Uruguay for support but senses the change in Omar's feelings with Arden), and during his recovery Omar awakens to what he really wants in life - love, beauty, and the freedom to express himself in all matters.

In the manner of fine story telling, there are excellent moments of passion, and comedy, and a fine dissection of family life in all its permutations. The cast is uniformly excellent, composed of such a stellar group of actors. This is a quiet adagio of a film, filled with charm, elegant cinematography by Javier Aguirresarobe, and fine music - both from the classics and from contemporary writing by Jorge Drexler. This film retains the 'Merchant Ivory': and that says enough! Grady Harp, August 10

City of Your Final Destination This first solo project from director James Ivory, from what little I saw of the film it promises to deliver.

True to form Ivory makes the most of exotic locations and an a stellar international cast.

The incomparable Anthony Hopkins rarely disappoints and in this role he more than exceeds any expectation.

Laura Linney plays her role of the tightly wound widow to perfection while Charlotte Gainsbourg is splendid as the vulnerable mistress.

Omar Metwally, the biographer, and Alexandra Maria Lara, his overly ambitious girlfriend, are superb.

The dialogue is written by Ruth Prawler Jhabvala has captured the essence of Peter Cameron's novel of the same name.

James Ivory proves to be a guarantee of grace when trying to render the complexity of those novels where the evocative power of the word must be translated into the visual form. The result, in this movie, like in his previous adaptations of great literary classics, is an elegant and graceful transposition of the novel by Peter Cameron. I read it some years ago, and watching the movie allowed me to recall it, not only from the point of view of the plot (which was not totally respected, indeed), but what gradually emerged in my mind was the subtle emotional tension running through it from the beginning. It is a novel full of drama, passion, inner conflicts, emerging gradually, almost softly, through rapid but effective dialogues, where each word is a powerful means, and as the movie proves adherence to this pattern, we gradually get into the emotional world of this strange family, and feel a strong involvement. Ivory's style remains the same as usual: elegant photography, careful screenplay, care for the single detail, little but significant musical underlining. The only limit is the hasty final movement towards a happy ending, which gives little justice to the novel, mainly to the character of Omar, who eventually find his own path in a too hasty way. And also the complex character of Caroline is not fully respected in the way the real motivations behind her first choice were cut off from the movie, thus depriving her of some more depth, evident in the novel. Talented acting, mainly from female cast (but Anthony Hopkins proves always impeccable) supports the overall high quality of the movie: everyone is so fit for his/her role, that having read the novel, I think no better cast could have been chosen. A refined movie, which however urges to go back to the novel in order to clear up some unconvincing points.