Giuseppe Tornatore is one of the greatest and most important Italian filmmakers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries and one of the first to fill the void left by the greats like Fellini, De Sica, Rosselini, Visconti and Antonioni. If he had recorded only the wonderful “Cinema Paradiso”, Tornatore would have been guaranteed eternity, but he is also the author of classics such as “Malena”, and this crime drama filmed in English with an international cast can already be included in that circle. It is an elegant and charming mystery about love and deception, set in the world of high art, antiques and auctions, and at the center of the story is Virgil Oldman (Geoffrey Rush), an already aged, rich, eccentric collector and auctioneer.
And while almost all auction houses hire him as a leading authority on antiques, he and his equally old friend Billy Whistler (Donald Sutherland) have had a scheme in place for years. Whistler buys works of art that are currently not worth anything, but which Oldman believes could soon be worth it, at auctions for him, and it is clear to us that this tandem acquired an incredible fortune in this way. Secretly he has an incredible collection of portraits worth who knows how much, and although initially reluctant, he will agree to an engagement for the mysterious heiress Claire Ibbetson (Sylvia Hoeks).
She inherited the villa full of art, and Oldman should catalog it all, then sell it, but he is doubtful because he can never meet Claire in person. It will turn out that she suffers from an acute form of agoraphobia and never leaves her room, and Oldman, who also suffers from certain obsessive-compulsive disorders and is constantly wearing gloves, will still be decided by the heiress. The mysterious Claire will be more and more attracted to the old bachelor, an eccentric who has devoted his life to collecting. A guy who gained a reputation for precision, accuracy, calculation, and who could never be thrown out of step by anything, will slowly begin to fall in love with the mysterious heiress, even before he could see her in person.
Although it is clear to us from the beginning that Oldman is a serious player, Claire will play with him from the beginning and very quickly drive him completely crazy. He will believe that he has finally managed to find the love he never had the time or interest to think about in the old days, but he will be greeted by many surprises. “The Best Offer” was a quality crime drama wrapped in a veil of mystery, which also stands out with Fabio Zamario’s perfect photography, superb production design, as well as another recognizable score by maestro Ennio Morricone. It had nominations for European film, direction and screenplay of the year, while Morricone won the award for music, and in the selection for Italian film of the year, it won five awards, including the most important ones, for film and direction.