The film is the simple story of a middle-aged American woman who travels to Venice on a vacation where she meets and falls for a shopkeeper. It is a film with a simple premise as it shows a secretary taking this trip to Venice as she has saved all her money as she films and photographs everything, she sees but copes with her own loneliness and the unfamiliarity of her surroundings. The film’s screenplay by David Lean and H.E. Bates is straightforward in its narrative yet it is an exploration of a woman going to a city she has always dreamed of going to and be amazed by its wonders but is troubled by her own loneliness while staying at a hotel with two couples of American tourists visiting the city.
The protagonist in Jane Hudson (Katharine Hepburn) is fascinated by her surroundings but remains troubled by her own loneliness until she meets a local antiques shopkeeper in Renato de Rossi (Rossano Brazzi) who sells her a rare 18th Century Venetian glass goblet. Hudson would often meet a young boy in Mauro (Gaetano Autiero) during her trip while also conversing with her fellow travelers and the hotel owner Signora Fiorini (Isa Miranda) as she tries to make sense of her surroundings with Renato being someone who can bring her some joy.
Lean’s direction is exquisite in its scenery as it is shot in and around Venice including the island of Burano near Venice. Lean’s usage of the wide and medium shots does not just capture the scope of the city but also in its canals, bridges, and the town square where Lean makes the city a key character in the film. Lean also play into the sense of isolation and confusion that Hudson goes through where he would shoot her in a close-up, or a medium shot as she sits in a café near the town square and then zoom out into a medium or wide shot. The usage of the locations help play into Hudson’s own fascination with her surroundings, including a famous shot of her falling onto a canal when she was trying to film something. Lean also maintains an intimacy in scenes set in and outside of the hotel that Hudson stays in where she meets her fellow tourists and its owner Signora Fiorini.
Lean also plays into many of the dramatic tropes that Hudson goes through as well as Renato’s own issues as he is someone that has a life of his own yet prefers to keep private and not hurt anyone. Lean also play into the different ideas of how Americans and Italians view relationships including sex as Hudson is more conservative on her views including her reaction towards the lifestyle of Signora Fiorini though Renato’s response is that it is no one’s business but Signora Fiorini. The film’s third act is about Hudson’s growing relationship with Renato and the idea of a possible new life but reality kicks in as it relates to the fact that Hudson’s time in Venice is limited. Still, Lean manages to create a lot of dramatic stakes in the third function as well as an ending that is incredibly powerful in all its complexities. Overall, Lean crafts a rapturous and exhilarating film about an American woman traveling to Venice and be enamored by a kind shopkeeper.
Cinematographer Jack Hildyard does brilliant work with the film’s colorful cinematography with the usage of the Eastman negative film stock that is processed and printed by Technicolor as it captures the beauty of Venice in its exteriors along with some gorgeous lighting for some of the interior/exterior scenes at night. Editor Peter Taylor does excellent work with the editing with its usage of dissolves and rhythmic cuts to play into the sense of adventure as well as some of the film’s dramatic moments. Production designer Vincent Korda does amazing work with the interiors of the hotel that Hudson and other American tourists stay in as well as the shop that Renato runs. Costume designer Rosa Gori does tremendous work with the costumes in the suits that the men wear as well as the gorgeous designer gowns, shoes, and such that the women wear including a dress Hudson wears on her night with Renato.
Sound editors Winston Ryder and Jacqueline Thiedot do superb work with the sound in the natural quality that is presented on location as well as the way music is presented live as it is a highlight of the film. The film’s music by Alessandro Cicognini is incredible for its lush orchestral score filled with rich string arrangements in its usage of traditional Italian string instruments as well as its accordions along with other music pieces that play into its locations and in some of the dramatic moments of the film as it is a major technical highlight.
The film’s phenomenal ensemble cast feature some notable small roles from Gino Cavaleri as a train porter, Andre Morell as a train passenger that Hudson meets early in the film, Virginia Simion as the hotel maid Giovanna, and Jeremy Spenser as a young man who works at Renato’s shop. Gaetano Autiero is terrific as a young boy named Mauro who guides Hudson through some locations as well as help her take photographs though he claims to be an orphan who lives in the streets of the city. MacDonald Parke and Jane Rose are superb in their respective roles as Lloyd and Edith McIlhenny as an elderly American couple traveling through Europe with the former being annoyed and often saying the wrong things while the latter is excited by her surroundings. Darren McGavin and Mari Aldon are fantastic in their respective roles as the younger American couple in Eddie and Phyl Yaeger with the former being a painter who likes to delve into the city’s decadence with the latter also having fun but becomes concerned if her marriage would survive. Isa Miranda is excellent as the hotel owner Signora Fiorini as a woman who runs the hotel that Hudson stays in as she knows about the city as well as having a different attitude about love and relationships in comparison to Hudson’s view.
Rossano Brazzi is amazing as Renato de Rossi as a local antiques shopkeeper who is enamored with Hudson as he helps her in finding her way in Venice while also being someone that is willing to reason with her about her views on sex and relationships while admitting to having his own flaws as it is a charismatic performance from Brazzi. Finally, there’s Katharine Hepburn in a spectacular performance as Jane Hudson as an American tourist who finally reaches her dream destination where she is wowed by what the city offers yet is troubled by her own loneliness until she meets Renato. Hepburn’s performance is truly radiant in the way she expresses her disappointment with herself and the way things are as well as coping with that disappointment until meeting Renato broadens her views of the world and in people as it is one of Hepburn’s iconic performances.
Summertime is a magnificent film by David Lean that features top-notch leading performances from Katharine Hepburn and Rossano Brazzi. Along with its supporting cast, gorgeous photography, a great film soundtrack, its story of love and the yearning to connect, and Venice itself. It is a film that isn’t just this witty romantic comedy but also a film that explore adult themes on what it means to connect with not just people but also in its surroundings. In the end, Summertime is an outstanding film by David Lean.
David Lean Films: In Which We Serve - This Happy Breed - Blithe Spirit - Brief Encounter - Great Expectations (1946 film) - Oliver Twist (1948 film) - The Passionate Friends - Madeleine (1950 film) - The Sound Barrier - Hobson's Choice - The Bridge on the River Kwai - Lawrence of Arabia - Doctor Zhivago - Ryan's Daughter - (Lost and Found: The Story of Cook’s Anchor) – A Passage to India - (The Auteurs #74: David Lean)
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