I think this film is among the most underrated of its era. It has what is likely Yvette Mimieux' finest performance, and it's in a difficult role as well. Though the story centers around Clara (Mimieux), who is 26 but has the mind of a child, it is really her mother Meg's story, nicely played by Olivia de Havilland.
Meg has brought Clara to Florence, Italy, to get her daughter away from a boy back in the states Clara had gotten close to. What drives the plot is Meg's desire for Clara who had been kicked in the head by a pony at age 10 and is mentally stunted, to have a normal life. When Clara is pursued by a young Italian Fabrizio (George Hamiliton), Meg doesn't really know what to do. On the one hand, she doesn't want Fabrizio and his family to discover Clara's "condition," but on the other, Fabrizio has an amazing effect on Clara. They are truly in love.
Things get more complicated when Meg meets Fabrizio's father, who takes more than a friendly interest in Meg. She is very capable of taking care of herself, though. What really upsets her is a visit by her husband (Barry Sullivan), who has long ago given up on the idea that Clara could have any semblance of a normal life.
Though Mimieux and de Havilland shine, the whole cast works well, including Hamilton as Fabrizio. Hamilton seems to be the whipping boy of the critics. I'm not sure why, but perhaps it's his good looks and that he looks privileged. It may be acerbated by the fact that he often played characters of privilege. Two years before he was a rich playboy in MGM's "Where the Boys Are," so perhaps critics couldn't buy him as an Italian. Nevertheless, Hamilton is really appealing in "Piazza." Even his Italian accent blends with the real Italian actor who plays his father, Rossano Brazzi. Hamilton's scenes with Mimieux often surprise with their level of emotion.
If you haven't figured this out already, this film is for romantics, and if you find these sorts of films corny, you'll probably have the same reaction here. However, for those of us who enjoy a nicely told romance in an idyllic setting, "Light in the Piazza" is hard to beat. It's much better than Warner's "Rome Adventure" the same year, a film full of beautiful locales but more soap than genuine opera. In "Piazza" director Guy Green unfolds the drama naturally, and keeps a tight grip on this character driven story all the way to the glorious ending.
Green continued working with Mimieux in her next film, "Diamond Head," where she plays the sister of Charlton Heston. It's another exotic love story, but not as successful as "Piazza." Yvette Mimieux, who made a big splash in George Pal's "The Time Machine" and "Where the Boys Are" in 1960, never really reached her full potential, but she came awfully close to giving a great performance in "Piazza." To play a 26 year old who throws tantrums, has physical fits and sleeps with teddy bears without garnering audience disdain, is quite a feat. A role like this could easily become obnoxious or succumb to treacle, but Mimieux manages to make us care and root for her. As crazy as the idea of a girl so mentally stunted ever having a normal life might be, we come to want it for her. We never lose our affection for Clara, as crazy as some of her actions are. Mimieux plays her as a likable, lovable daughter and an appealing lover. A pleasant person. As Mimieux' performance shows us, it's clear why Fabrizio fell for her.
Meg is the anchor of "Piazza," and de Havilland pulls us through the twists and turns of the story with a likable display of perseverance. Her scenes with Clara are filled with warmth, but tinged with unease, as they should be. de Havilland and Brazzi have many wonderful and amusing scenes together as they get to know each other, while at the same time keeping secrets from one another.
The lush score by Mario Nascimbene is very much of its time, but is well suited to the film. It never seems to intrude, but adds that touch of European exotica appropriate for the time and place. Following "Piazza" and "Diamond Head," director Guy Green went on to do what is probably his best film, "A Patch of Blue," another unusual romance. He apparently liked them.
There are things in the film that date it, primarily the use of rear screen projection for the scenes with de Havilland and Brazzi driving around in a small car. The filmmakers even removed the windshield so as not to block the view of the actors and this makes the scenes so ridiculously fake they are laughable. Interestingly, I recently saw 2010's "Letters to Juliet," which is also a romance that takes place in Italy, and the car scenes were done the same way. The only difference is that technology has gotten much better and the effects were harder to spot. Nevertheless, I spotted them.
For some reason, some films made at MGM in 1962 were poorly received and heavily criticized. "Mutiny on the Bounty" with Marlon Brando, and "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" with Glenn Ford (and Mimieux as his sister), are two other examples. This was the same year as "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "Lawrence of Arabia," both of which were well received. "Bounty" and "Horsemen" seemed to have been reassessed in recent years and if you read comments on both they are much better appreciated these days. Perhaps the reason "Piazza" is late in being reassessed is because until now, it has not been available. The Warner Archive has finally put this film on DVD and for those romantics willing to take a chance, they will probably enjoy it immensely.
