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Hotel Portofino is a sumptuous-looking, overstuffed Downton-on-the-Riviera drama

James Croot

With its hinted at scandals and duplicity, Sky TV’s new Italian-set British period drama does evoke hopes of something akin to The Talented Mr. Ripley.

However, in truth, the six-part Hotel Portofino, for all its shadowy machinations and portentous dialogue, has far more in common with the more genteel likes of Tea With Mussolini, Enchanted April and Under the Tuscan Sun.

Our setting is the Italian Riviera in 1926 and Bella Ainsworth (Natascha McElhone) is desperate to make a good first impression.

‘‘Everything needs to feel like a home away from home,’’ she reminds her son Lucian (Oliver Dench) after he fails to introduce himself properly to Julia (Lucy Akhurst) and Rose (Claude ScottMitchell) Drummond-Ward.

Not only is keeping them happy vital to word of mouth for the nascent business, but, unbeknownst to Lucian, his father Cecil (Mark Umbers) has eyed Rose up as a match for his battlescarred, seemingly directionless offspring. It’s a gambit that has also attracted the ire of Cecil’s daughter Alice (Olivia Morris). ‘‘He

won’t spend half as much on finding me a husband,’’ she gripes.

Increasingly absent, it turns out Cecil has actually been frittering away a fortune (both his and the family’s) elsewhere, much to the chagrin of the exasperated Bella.

‘‘I cannot run a hotel on credit,’’ she fumes, while harbouring a secret of her own that may have put her in compromising position with a nefarious local politician who has stumbled onto it.

And if that wasn’t enough, American Jack Turner (Adam James) has just sauntered into the lobby along with his consort Claudine (Lily Turner), a woman whose daring fashion sense is about to turn everyone’s heads.

Yes, Matt Baker’s souffle of a Downton-on-the-riviera-esque drama is filled with annoying aunts, disapproving matriarchs and potential scandals, both front of house and behind the scenes, at the eponymous establishment.

Sumptuous costuming and impressive production design help draw the viewer in, but one can’t help but feel they don’t quite make the most of the Mediterranean setting (with Croatia subbing in for Italy for the most part).

Likewise, there’s almost too much going on plotwise, leaving its main drawcard, the luminous McElhone (Ronin, The Truman Show) at least initially, criminally on the periphery. Still if you’re a fan of the genre, the setting, or any of the cast, this should provide more-than-satisfying appointment viewing.

Focus Sound & Vision

en-nz

2022-05-22T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-22T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/282054805644947

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