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American pianist Larry Taft (Stanley Tucci) lives in a constant state of limbo, moving from one place to the next. For the past five years, he’s settled on a beautiful Mediterranean island, where he earns a living by playing piano in a bar where nobody listens. But Larry dreams of doing something big—of organizing a concert in honor of a famous composer who lived in the village until his death.
Larry finally manages to get Veronica (Marisa Paredes), the composer’s widow to agree to let him host the concert at the composer’s amphitheater, played on his personal piano. With the support of his neurotic girlfriend, Miranda (Jessica Stevenson), he even brings famous hometown pianist Narcisco Ortega (Virgile Bramly) back to the village (along with a huge entourage) to perform. But then the jealous widow discovers that Larry’s been working with the composer’s beautiful French muse, Helena (Emmanuelle Seigner), who claims to have the composer’s final work—which no one’s heard before. And, to complicate matters even more, a teenage girl shows up days before the concert and announces that she’s Larry’s long-lost daughter. As Larry’s plans start falling apart, British snob Sebastian (Hugh Bonneville) tries to jump in and take over—but his reckless brother, Dickie (Rhys Ifans), who’s come for a visit, might ruin everything.
Though it’s marketed as a romantic comedy, the humor in Four Last Songs is, for the most part, much subtler than you might expect from the standard, run-of-the-mill chick flick. And the love story isn’t your typical love story, either. In fact, there are several love stories in the movie—but they’re not all of the boy-meets-girl variety. So if you’re expecting the typical romantic comedy, you’ll be in for a surprise. But it’s a pleasant surprise nonetheless. Because while it strays from the usual chick lit style (though not necessarily all of the usual chick lit formulas), Four Last Songs intertwines a number of lightly humorous yet touching stories about letting go of the past and learning to move on.
While not every member of the cast gives a solid performance (like Jena Malone, who’s pretty shaky as Larry’s disgruntled teenage daughter), Tucci and Ifans, especially, make this a delightful film. And I don’t think the setting could possibly be any more stunning. The beauty of the setting only adds to that of the story—and that makes it a film that’s worth checking out.
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