Unfortunate plot hole

I never really thought about that, but it's a good point you mention. Although I do think she could have given the excuse that it was her parent's purchases. All of the furnishings and stylistic possessions within the house could have been owned by the parents and Claire could have just been oblivious to their origins. The film did claim that she was the only living member of the family, every one else being deceased; however I do think that could have been seen as a bit suspicious considering she claimed to adore that house. I think it would be plausible to assume she would have knowledge of some, it not all, the items within the house, but I could also see the argument that she just could have been ignorant as well.

I don't think it's a major detriment to the film, just a testament to a minor flaw in the writing. Overall it's still a good film in my opinion.

I see your point as well. However, assuming the back story given was mostly real (the real Claire didn't seem to have much of a social life either. She was a victim of circumstance that was just as much a "prisoner" as fake Claire pretended to be and Mr. Oldman were to their own inner demons) it would seem plausible that she didn't know the provenance or much about the family's possessions. It was said that she developed agoraphobia around age twelve, so it's not a far jump to assume that her illness took precedence in her life and mind. How many twelve year olds actually know what their parents or grandparents or earlier predecessors owned that had been passed down from generation to generation? And, as technology advances and people can travel quite freely, there are more and more "kids" venturing out much farther from their birth place (and family history) to forge a path of their own. For all these reasons, it seems very likely that Claire saw the upper-class trappings as much a prisoner in the home as she was and distancing herself, even if only across the street, allowed her to stay connected, but in a detached, observational manner.

That's my take on it anyway. Only the writer and director know what they were going for with the story. Notwithstanding, it was beautifully done.



- Get busy living, or get busy dying. Andy (The Shawshank Redemption)

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My issue is with the fact that he wasn't curious or even suspicious when Clair described him to someone on the phone as soon as she thought he left when he hid behind the statue, am I missing something?

Even if Oldman could have identified most of the furnishings stylisticaly, he would have been extremely suspicious of a palazzo of art and furniture without provenance, and the value would have been substantially under market.

just a minor point "...a gift from the Principessa Borghessi" should be "... principessa BORGHESE". That's the name of one the most ancient family.
;-)

''People have mentioned the lack of research into the family.''

Why? If he researched about the family, he simply founded that the owner was Clair Ibetson. That's why they use a real villa with a real woman of the same age as the fake Claire.

''I did also have trouble with the English in what was obviously an Italian setting. I would not have hurt for the bar scenes to have been in Italian with sub-titles.''

Tornatore said he was a middle-european ambientation without a specific identity or nationality.


Note: My english is bad, sorry.