While there have been countless World War Two films, you can never go wrong with an adaptation of an Earnest Hemmingway book. After all, there have been more than fifteen film adaptations and eleven television adaptations of his countless books, but there never has been one for Across the River and into the Trees, one of his latter works in 1950 before he died in 1961, which focuses on a dying soldier as he goes duck hunting towards the end of the war and finds life and peace in the process. Director Paula Ortiz and screenwriter Peter Flannery along with a powerhouse performance by Liev Schreiber help capture the soul-searching adventure Colonel Richard Cantwell goes through in Italy.
Colonel Cantwell (Schreiber) recently returns to Italy in his latter years, and it’s clear he’s holding onto some not yet worked through trauma. After a meeting with a doctor and his superior, he learns that he has a bum ticker and he’s pretty much living on borrowed time. His captain (Danny Huston) tells him he needs to put the drinking down and stop smoking, so of course, Cantwell immediately lights up another cigarette. Although instructed to go to a nearby hospital, Cantwell is on a mission to go duck hunting, but he really is there for another reason. Seeing how stubborn Cantwell is, his captain tells a young soldier Jackson (Josh Hutcherson) to keep an eye on him in case he passes out unexpectedly, so Cantwell recruits Jackson to be his driver. He wants his driver to be quiet, but of course, Jackson is a talkative escort.
At the same time in Across the River and into the Trees, Cantwell meets Renata (Matilda De Angelis), a young woman twenty years Cantwell’s junior, who is being forced to marry a rich guy she barely knows or loves for the sake of money and upward mobility. She sees Cantwell and is immediately attracted to him, and he to her. While the book details their relationship as sexual in nature, almost primal, in the film adaptation of Across the River and into the Trees, their relationship is much more romantic. They are depicted as two lost souls seeking comfort from each other. In fact, all of their on-screen moments are devoid of sex and just about them enjoying dinner, wine, and dancing with each other. Of course, there are implications of them knocking boots and It’s clear there’s a huge age gap between the two (Schreiber is 28 years older than De Angelis, and in the book, her character was barely 18), which ramps up the “ick” factor a little, but director Paula Ortiz is not interested in the titillation of sexuality, and instead the emotional connection the two have vs the physical one.
Through his journey, you learn about Cantwell and his feelings on the war, following orders, and mistakes he believes he made in the war which feeds his trauma and loneliness. Across the River and into the Trees is a war movie that makes a point to not really show much war. There is a flashback scene towards the end of the film that displays the chaos of one event that has caused Cantwell so much grief, and it is brutal, but at its core, the film is about a broken man who knows he doesn’t have much time left reconciling with his past and finding a new lease on life with his relationship with a young woman.
Across the River and into the Trees really stands out in its direction and cinematography. Filmed on set in Italy, and thanks to Covid’s lockdown during filming, the sparse sets captured a desolate Italy during World War Two very well. The decision to switch between black and white and color as well as having the film switch between 4:3 to widescreen depending on the mood of the scene is also an interesting choice. The MVP of the film is Schreiber though. For a guy who is consistently delivering in whatever role he’s in, it’s hard to say he delivers a “career-best” performance, but he absolutely delivers a career-best performance in this film. He’s gruff when he needs to be, sweet and kind with De Angelis, and in the final act of the film, he allows himself to have every emotion wash over him in such a beautiful way.
Across the River and into the Trees is now playing in theaters.
