Passionada
Directed by: Dan Ireland
Starring: Jason Isaacs, Sofia Milos, Emmy Rossum, Lupe Ontiveros, Seymour Cassel, Theresa Russell
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 108 min.
Parental Notes: Although this movie contains nothing objectionable for preteens beyond some passionate kissing and implied sexual activity, it may bore them with its sly humor and slow, thoughtful romance.
Romantic movies have a marked tendency to be formulaic, and “Passionada” is no exception. It contains a lovable scoundrel, a widowed mother, a spunky teenager, and a wise but gruff mother-in-law. The lovable scoundrel lies to make himself seem presentable to the widow, and they fall in love. It’s obvious where everything is headed, but what makes “Passionada” a delightful film is the passion of the characters.
Celia Amonte (Sofia Milos), young widow of a fisherman lost at sea, is trying to raise her strong-willed teenage daughter, Vicki (Emmy Rossum) in the fishing community of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Celia works as a seamstress during the day, and sings the Fado music of her Portugese childhood in a local restaurant at night. Englishman Charlie Beck (Jason Isaacs) sees her perform and is instantly smitten, but he has two difficulties: Celia is still grieving for her husband after all these years, and Charlie is far from a respectable suitor.
Vicki discovers his secret when she meets him at the local casino: Charlie is a professional gambler. Vicki, who has been sneaking off to the casino when she’s supposedly out on dates, persuades him to make a deal with her: if he teaches her how to count cards, she’ll get him a date with her mother. Charlie doesn’t mind fibbing a little to get Celia to have anything to do with him, but soon he’s built an extensive network of lies and can’t see a way out of them.
Although it’s no particular surprise where “Passionada” winds up, the journey to reach the end is engaging. Milos brings a quiet sadness to Celia that is heartbreaking, and which makes us treasure the way Charlie can make the grieving widow laugh. Watching Milos perform Celia’s songs is also a joy – although Milos does not do the singing (renowned Fado singer Misia lends her voice to the character), her body language puts the emotions of the songs into physical form.
Isaacs, currently best known for his villainous roles in “The Patriot” and the “Harry Potter” films, is a pleasure as Charlie. Isaacs shows us just how world-weary and tired of his life Charlie is, and makes us care about the character enough that when we see Charlie opening up to Celia, it’s impossible not to hope he finds a way to reveal his secret without losing her.
Although spunky teenagers are a dime a dozen in Hollywood these days, Rossum fills young Vicki with a warmth that is all too often missing from this kind of role. Vicki loves her family, even when they make her crazy and frustrate her to no end, and Rossum is able to let that resonate inside the character even as she schemes to go against her mother’s wishes.
The relationship between Celia and Vicki, while unexplored by the script, is hinted at by the dialog and acting. Vicki rides a motorcycle and likes to provoke her mother, but Celia is wise enough not to crack down unduly on her. So long as Vicki keeps her curfew, Celia will put up with a lot. They may fight sometimes, and Celia is very clear that she’s Vicki’s mother, not her friend, but they have a delightfully close relationship that may give some in the audience a wistful twinge.
“Passionada” was extensively reshot after poor audience reaction to an early screening, and has clearly benefited from the extra work. This film manages to avoid many of the cliched pitfalls of romance movies, and gives us characters we can care about and empathize with as they try to give each other and themselves another chance.