only you movie review 1994

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Norman Jewison 's "Only You" is the kind of lighthearted romance that's an endangered species in today's Hollywood. It is total fantasy, light as a feather, contrary to all notions of common sense, it features a couple of stars who are really good kissers - and it takes place mostly in Venice, Rome, and the glorious Italian hillside town of Positano. What more do you want? Movies like this were once written for Katharine Hepburn ("Summertime"), Audrey Hepburn ("Roman Holiday") and Rossano Brazzi ("Three Coins in the Fountain"). Or remember Clark Gable and Sophia Loren in "It Happened in Naples"? There is a case to be made that no modern actors have quite the innocence or the faith to play such heedless lovers, but Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr. somehow manage to lose all the baggage of our realistic, cynical age, and give us a couple of fools in love.

The movie begins when the heroine, Faith, is 11. She and her cousin Kate ask a Ouija board who she will marry, and the answer is clear: She will marry a man named Damon Bradley. A few years later, a fortuneteller tells her the same thing. Such a coincidence cannot be ignored, and so "Damon Bradley" becomes a psychic beacon for the appropriately named Faith.

Years pass, however, and no Damon Bradley appears, and finally Faith, now played by Marisa Tomei, becomes engaged to a podiatrist ( John Benjamin Hickey ). Then, on the eve of her wedding, she receives a call from a friend of the groom's, who cannot attend the ceremony because he is on his way to Venice. The friend's name, of course, is Damon Bradley, and Faith abandons all her wedding plans, of course, to fly after him to Venice.

Peter, the man who has made the call, is played by Robert Downey Jr., and one of the questions posed by the movie is whether he is, in fact, really Damon Bradley. What is interesting is that he may be, even if he's not - a paradox you will understand after you see the movie. Whether he is or isn't hardly matters after Faith and Peter fall in love in Venice, or after they continue their romance in Rome, or after it nearly comes to pieces in Positano.

The screenplay by Diane Drake of course throws great hurdles in the way of the lovers, not least those caused by Faith's explicit belief in the childhood prophecy. All of this is sheer contrivance and artifice, which is part of the fun. There is a fine line between the Idiot Plot, so called because the characters act in defiance of common sense, and what we might call, in deference to Jewison's 1987 hit, the " Moonstruck " Plot - in which the characters also act in defiance of common sense, but we don't mind because it's fun.

"Only You" gives us two people who should fall in love and live happily together for the rest of their days. They know it, we know it, and all of their friends know it. We also know with a confidence bordering on certainty that they will fall in love. And so there is a special kind of movie pleasure in watching them pigheadedly postpone their bliss - especially when they do it on Italian locations lovingly photographed by Sven Nykvist .

I can think of many angst-laden young Hollywood stars, many of them accomplished actors, who could not have come within miles of the work done by Downey and Tomei in this movie. There is craft involved, yes, and even a certain inspiration, but what I reacted to more strongly was an ineffable sense of good nature: Tomei and Downey seem happy in their being here, and happier together than apart. That it what must be present if we're to respond to a story like this. I have not read in the supermarket papers that they are "linked in real life," and so I must assume their chemistry comes from acting. All the more remarkable. (Or maybe not; many real-life couples sometimes seem fed up with one another on the screen.) Norman Jewison, who directs "Only You" with a light, smiling touch, began his directing career just as movies like this were going out of style. He directed Doris Day in "The Thrill of It All" (1963), co-starring James Garner , and in "Send Me No Flowers" (1964), with Rock Hudson , and I hope Marisa Tomei understands it is a compliment when I say that in "Only You" she has some of Doris Day's sunny warmth. I suppose Doris Day is out of fashion, and so are movies like "Only You," but just because something is not done anymore doesn't mean it's not worth doing.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Film credits.

Only You (1994)

108 minutes

Marisa Tomei as Faith

Robert Downey Jr. as Peter

Joaquim De Almeida as Giovanni

Bonnie Hunt as Kate

Directed by

• Norman Jewison

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Norman Jewison

Marisa Tomei

Faith Corvatch

Robert Downey Jr.

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Movie Review: 'Only You'

The heroine (Marisa Tomei) stares at the TV set in tears as Ezio Pinza sings ”Some Enchanted Evening.” Later, in Rome, she meets a puppy-eyed stranger (Robert Downey Jr.), and as they’re strolling down the street they pass an old black jazzman playing ”Some Enchanted Evening.” At which point you may want to shout, ”I get it! It’s romantic!” As the wistful Faith, who spends the movie chasing a man she’s never met, Tomei has come down with a bad case of reveling in her own adorableness. C

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Film review: Only You

Romantic comedy features italian scenery and a knockout performance by scene-stealing actress., by deseret news , chris hicks, movie critic.

Director Norman Jewison attempts to strike "Moonstruck" gold a second time with "Only You," a "Cinderella" tale that is also a sweet and frequently funny romantic comedy with a charming cast. (Not to mention Sven Nykvist's knockout cinematography of Venice, Rome and southern Italy.)

This time out, however, the tale is even fluffier, and the biggest laughs are provided by scene-stealing, wisecracking Bonnie Hunt (the mother in the "Beethoven" movies), in what might be called the Eve Arden role. She gives the film a major boost with deadpan delivery of witty dialogue that is truly hilarious. (Some of which seems to be ad-libbed.)

In the lead, however, is Marisa Tomei, Oscar-winner as best supporting actress for "My Cousin Vinny" and most recently seen in "The Paper" as Michael Keaton's pregnant wife. Here she plays Faith, a much more tame, calm and somewhat less interesting character.

As a youngster, Faith is obsessed with the idea that she is destined to meet her true love for a written-in-the-stars romance. She even knows his name — Damon Bradley — which was spelled out by a Ouija board and later given to her by a Gypsy fortune teller.

Fourteen years later, as Faith is teaching school in Pittsburgh, the name is still on her mind, but she has set it aside and is preparing to marry a bland podiatrist. Then, over Labor Day weekend, just 10 days before her wedding, while Faith is trying on her prospective mother-in-law's wedding dress, she gets a phone call from — you guessed it — Damon Bradley. It seems he's a friend of Faith's fiance, and he's at the airport about to leave for Venice, simply calling to wish the happy couple well.

But Faith goes nuts — racing to the airport in the wedding gown, trying frantically to get on Bradley's plane and then, heading for Venice to track him down. Her sister-in-law and longtime friend Kate (Hunt) joins her for the journey, which finds them trailing Bradley all across Italy.

Eventually, they meet up with Brad-ley, in the form of Robert Downey Jr., . . . or is he really someone else, just stringing Faith along?

This is pretty contrived stuff, no question. And Jewison relies heavily on the charm of his players — all of whom deliver in spades. (Including Joaquim De Almeida, the central, Spanish-speaking villain in "Clear and Present Danger," here playing an Italian ladies man.)

Despite the machinations of the main plot, however, it is Kate's cynical view of marriage, her own troubled relationship with her husband (played by Fisher Stevens) and a near-romance with De Almeida that bolster the film. Hunt is touching, sweet and very funny, with a tart ability to deliver sharp comic dialogue that is rare these days — despite the presence of dozens of standup comics in TV sitcoms.

So, where has Hunt been? And more importantly, when does she get a movie of her own?

"Only You" is rated PG for a few profanities, some fisticuffs and some partial nudity (thong bikinis, Tomei's see-through dress).

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1994 Directed by Norman Jewison

A love story written in the stars.

A childhood incident has convinced Faith Corvatch that her true love is a guy named "Damon Bradley," but she has yet to meet him. Preparing to settle down and marry a foot doctor, Faith impulsively flies to Venice when it seems that she may be able to finally encounter the man of her dreams. Instead, she meets the charming Peter Wright. But can they fall in love if she still believes that she is intended to be with someone else?

Marisa Tomei Robert Downey Jr. Bonnie Hunt Joaquim de Almeida Fisher Stevens Billy Zane Adam LeFevre John Benjamin Hickey Siobhan Fallon Hogan Antonia Rey Phyllis Newman Denise Du Maurier Tammy Minoff Harry Barandes Gianfranco Barra Barbara Cupisti Fiorenzo Fiorentini Shari Summers Mattia Sbragia Renato Scarpa Fausto Lombardi Cristina Moglia Rick Applegate Marc Field Bob Tracey James Sampson Victor Buhler Dina Morrone Gregory Gibson Kenney Show All… Anthony Dileo Jr.

Director Director

Norman Jewison

Producers Producers

Charles Mulvehill Cary Woods Norman Jewison Robert N. Fried Michael Jewison

Writer Writer

Diane Drake

Casting Casting

Howard Feuer

Editor Editor

Stephen E. Rivkin

Cinematography Cinematography

Sven Nykvist

Assistant Director Asst. Director

Tony Brandt

Production Design Production Design

Luciana Arrighi

Art Direction Art Direction

Stefano Maria Ortolani Maria Teresa Barbasso

Set Decoration Set Decoration

Ian Whittaker

Composer Composer

Rachel Portman

Costume Design Costume Design

Milena Canonero

TriStar Pictures Yorktown Productions

Releases by Date

04 mar 1994, 17 sep 1994, 08 dec 1994, 25 jan 1995, 27 jan 1995, 02 feb 1995, 03 feb 1995, 09 feb 1995, 29 oct 1999, 07 sep 2002, releases by country.

• Theatrical U
• Theatrical TP
• Theatrical 6

Netherlands

• Physical 6 DVD
• TV 6 Net 5
• Theatrical M/12

South Korea

• Theatrical 15
• Theatrical PG

115 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by tara🌹 ★★½

robert downey jr speaking italian cured my acne

Review by laura ★★★

i wish my destiny was dating young robert downey jr as well

Review by mulaney ★★★½

marisa tomei and robert downey jr are legitimately one of the hottest couples i have ever seen 🥵

Review by Steven Flores

A silly but delightful romantic comedy where Aunt May goes to Italy to find some guy named Damon Bradley and ends up catching the eye of Tony Stark aka Iron Man.

Review by FallonD1 ★★★½

Will the real Damon Bradley please stand up

Review by tara ★★★

I mean it was absurd and cheesy and the premise is frankly p creepy, but it's also a 90s romcom so I had a great time

Review by Iman ★★★★½ 1

Movie took 45 minutes to RDJ

Review by Kat ★★★½ 6

Alot of 90s charm and funnier than I was expecting. I enjoyed it. Marissa Tomei and RDJ are cute together. But Bonnie Hunt and Billy Zane are a MOOD.

Their girls trip is the perfect example of if a capricorn and a pisces took a holiday together lol. Some really gorgeous outfits. Italy looks beautiful and I want to go. Damon Bradley hit me up.

Review by 𝚝𝚊𝚢𝚕𝚘𝚛 ★★★½

young RDJ got me in my go crazy aahhhh go stoopid mode

Review by emma ★★½

young rdj could leave me on read at 4:30 and text at 8:47 and i would reply at 8:46

Review by maria ★★★½ 1

things i love about this: - young robert downey jr; - young marisa tomei; - young robert downey jr speaking italian; - the cliche starter pack my heart needs; - robert and marisa dancing; - robert and marisa kissing; - robert and marisa; - italy; - have i said young robert downey jr? - young robert downey jr in italy

Review by kidcoppola ★★★★★ 1

Like I've said in the past, I like this movie too much to give it anything but a 5/5. Is it actually? No, but films have personal significance to individuals and that is something I respect. For me, this movie was a sexual awakening. I was obsessed with Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr. for a looong time.

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ScreenAge Wasteland

Welcome to the wasteland, ‘only you’ (1994) review.

• by Romona Comet
• Posted on October 4, 2022 October 6, 2022

After playing with an Ouija board with her brother, Faith is convinced her destiny is a man named Damon Bradley. This is reiterated later at a carnival where a fortune teller mentions the same name. Years later, Faith is engaged to be married but receives a call from a friend of her fiancé, who is about to board a plane for Italy, but tells her his name is Damon Bradley. Convinced that the phone call is her fate, Faith and her sister-in-law, Kate, board a plane to Venice to track down Damon. When she finds him (or so she thinks), she and “Damon” spend a whirlwind night falling in love. But, of course, it’s not that easy, and Faith ultimately has to decide if she believes in some pre-ordained fate, or her heart.

I really loved the premise of this movie. I’m a sucker for most things that fall underneath the movie umbrella of “fate”. Even if you don’t believe it exists, I still think it’s fun to watch in terms of a movie or television show, especially if it brings something fresh to the table.  Only You isn’t exactly an original take on destiny, but its simplicity actually benefits it, I think.

Marisa Tomei  is perfectly adorable as Faith, a woman who seems content to be marrying her boyfriend… until she gets a phone call from Damon Bradley, then she runs off to the airport  in  her wedding dress(!) to find him. Her poor fiancé is barely a blip on Faith’s radar anymore as she tries to track down the man she’s confident is the man she’s  supposed to marry. In the hands of another actress, Faith could have easily been an unlikeable lead, but Tomei is just charming enough that I find myself rooting for her instead. I guess it didn’t hurt that her fiancé was a bit of a dull dud.

And  Robert Downey Jr. ! With those big puppy dog eyes… he’s a good-looking man, but back in 1994? Wowza. He was exactly what you would expect him to be in a movie like this, but that’s not a bad thing at all. His Damon/Peter is adorably lovesick and goes out of his way to try to prove to Faith that destiny shouldn’t be just a faceless name. I thought he and Tomei had great chemistry together and I think you still see sparks of it in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War  when they share a few moments on screen together.

Bonnie Hunt  is always amazing and there is a small side plot of her character, Kate, dealing with her unhappy marriage to Faith’s brother, Larry. It’s certainly not as in depth as the Faith/Peter (Damon) storyline, but it gives the movie a nice dose of realism. On one hand, Faith is the hopeless romantic who believes in fate. And then on the other, Kate is the woman who has been married for years to the man she believed to be  her  soulmate, and it’s anything but unicorns and destiny. I won’t spoil the movie for you, but I really enjoyed Kate’s subplot and was happy with how it resolved.

The script is whimsical and light and this honestly felt like an “old school” romantic comedy. It’s completely devoid of the cynical, unlucky in love traits that plague a lot of rom-coms these days and simply pushes together two people who just want to believe that love is written in the stars. Now take that fluff and combine it with the insanely beautiful scenery of Italy and you have a magical romantic comedy that is perfect for a rainy day, or cozy night. Only You  obviously requires some suspension of belief, but if you are able to do that, I think you will probably enjoy this one.

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Author: Romona Comet

"I'm probably watching a rom-com right now." View all posts by Romona Comet

Alternate Title

Mpaa rating, produced by, only you (1994), directed by norman jewison.

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Synopsis by Mark Deming

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Common sense media reviewers.

Romantic drama on the challenges of conception; sex scenes.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Themes include patience, communication, compromise

Both Elena and Jake are extremely flawed, but real

Some arguing. In one scene, a character punches a

Sex is a key component to the plot. What begins as

Some use of "f--k" and "s--t." Characters say hurt

Characters occasionally drink, mostly at social fu

Parents need to know that Only You is a gripping romantic drama that presents an accurate depiction of modern relationships with some scenes of a sexual nature. Taking a raw look at modern love, the movie examines issues such as the nine-year age gap between Elena (Laia Costa) and Jake (Josh O'Connor), and…

Positive Messages

Themes include patience, communication, compromise, and empathy -- key ingredients to a long-lasting relationship. Caring more about who someone is rather than where they are from.

Positive Role Models

Both Elena and Jake are extremely flawed, but real. They display some of our finest traits, such as Jake's compassion and Elena's emotional intelligence. And some of our worst too -- Jake can be immature and idealistic, while Elena is rash and confrontational.

Violence & Scariness

Some arguing. In one scene, a character punches a door during an argument.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Sex is a key component to the plot. What begins as a drunken one-night stand quickly develops into a loving relationship. The two main characters begin trying for a baby. The sex scenes are frequent and realistic, but not graphic. Some brief nudity -- buttocks and breasts.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Some use of "f--k" and "s--t." Characters say hurtful words to one another.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Characters occasionally drink, mostly at social functions like parties and weddings. The movie begins with a character drunk on New Year's Eve, who invites a stranger back to her flat for sex. Supporting characters smoke.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Only You is a gripping romantic drama that presents an accurate depiction of modern relationships with some scenes of a sexual nature. Taking a raw look at modern love, the movie examines issues such as the nine-year age gap between Elena ( Laia Costa ) and Jake ( Josh O'Connor ), and the want and difficulties in trying for a baby. Sex scenes are frequent, including one in the opening act which occurs under the influence of alcohol. There is some brief nudity -- buttocks and breasts -- but no full-frontal. The couple's problems conceiving heighten emotions and lead to arguments -- Elena punches a door during one argument -- and some use of "f--k" and "s--t." But the movie subverts gender expectations in a way that is more reflective of a contemporary world. The troubles the couple encounter are very age-specific, but could provide the next generation with an unflinching, real take on falling in love. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (1)

Based on 1 parent review

Good values, gratuitous sex

What's the story.

ONLY YOU begins when two strangers share a cab on New Year's Eve. Elena ( Laia Costa ) invites Jake ( Josh O'Connor ) back to her home, where they engage in a passionate one-night stand. They fall in love, move in together, and soon begin trying for a baby. But they encounter many difficulties along the way and decide to start IVF treatment. This soon takes its toll -- both physically and emotionally -- on this once loved-up couple.

Is It Any Good?

This film is awkward at times, it's heartbreaking in others, and beautifully mawkish too -- but it's never not real. Only You is director Harry Wootliff 's first feature film, but is fully deserving of its BAFTA nomination for Outstanding Debut. Through the characters of Jake and Elena, we're presented a strikingly naturalistic take on modern romance. The chemistry between the leads is undeniable. The way Jake looks at Elena with so much love and admiration is a masterclass in acting, but it's also displayed in his subtle sense of blissful idealism. Costa matches her co-star at every turn with a complex, internalized display, as her inner conflicts are delicately explored.

It's a testament to Wootliff's screenplay that the dialogue is so natural it seems improvised. It truly feels we're on this same journey with the protagonists. The movie's authenticity never once compromises on the cinematic quality, which is visually impressive. It also features one of the best father-son conversations since Call Me By Your Name . Only You is an honest portrayal of the difficulties and challenges couples face in today's world.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the relationship between Elena and Jake in Only You. What challenges do they face as a couple? How do they overcome them? What character strengths do you think are most important to a successful relationship?

Did Elena feel like a realistic character to you? In what way? How does she compare to other female characters you have seen portrayed on screen? Discuss gender representation in movies.

Jake and his father have a meaningful discussion about relationships. How does this help Jake? Why is communication so important?

How is sex portrayed in the movie? Is it loving and respectful? What does it mean for the characters involved? Parents, talk to your teens about your own values regarding sex and relationships.

Movie Details

• In theaters : July 12, 2019
• On DVD or streaming : September 9, 2019
• Cast : Laia Costa , Josh O'Connor , Natalie Arle-Toyne
• Director : Harry Wootliff
• Inclusion Information : Female directors, Female actors
• Studio : Curzon Artificial Eye
• Genre : Romance
• Character Strengths : Communication , Empathy
• Run time : 119 minutes
• MPAA rating : NR
• Last updated : June 20, 2023

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• As a teen, Faith was told that her destiny is a man named Damon Bradley. Years later - Faith is about to marry another man - a Damon Bradley calls to wish them all the best. Faith blows off the wedding and follows Damon to Italy.
• Destiny. Faith (Marisa Tomei) believes that two soul-mates can be united if they find each other. From the Ouija board, she has found the name of her missing half, and it is D-A-M-O-N B-R-A-D-L-E-Y. Later, at the carnival, the fortune teller sees the name Damon Bradley in the Crystal Ball and Faith is convinced. She is told that "You make your own destiny,...don't wait for it to come to you", but she is looking for Damon. 14 years later, she is engaged to a dull podiatrist and plans to marry until she gets a call from one of his classmates who is on his way to Venice, Italy. The classmate is Damon Bradley. Rushing to the airport to see her soul-mate, she misses him and the plane, but decides, then and there, to go after him. So Faith and her sister-in-law Kate both board the next plane for Italy hoping to find her Damon. — Tony Fontana <[email protected]>
• In Pittsburgh, mid-twentysomething Faith Corvatch, a Catholic school teacher, has always believed in destiny. Based on a couple of paranormal incidents when she was a teenager, Faith believed she was destined to end up with a man named Damon Bradley, which is, to her, solely a name and not an actual person she knows. Regardless, she has accepted the marriage proposal of her staid podiatrist boyfriend, Dwayne. Ten days before the wedding at the start of a weekend, Faith takes a telephone call for Dwayne from one of Dwayne's old friends who he has not seen in years, that person named Damon Bradley, he hanging up the phone before she realizes his name. With five days before her next class, Faith decides to follow her destiny by tracking down Damon Bradley based only on what information she has on hand, namely that he is flying to Venice, and the name of the hotel he will be staying at there. So with her sister-in-law Kate Corvatch in tow, Kate who is having her own marital issues as she feels unappreciated by her husband/Faith's brother, Larry Corvatch, her childhood sweetheart, Faith hops on a plane to Venice, planning to be back in Pittsburgh in time for her next class and for the wedding. Faith and Kate get into one close encounter after another with the phantom Damon Bradley without ever seeing him as they track him through Italy. When Faith finally meets Damon, who she finds is a Boston shoe salesman in Italy on a business trip, it is love at first sight on both sides. But there is one important and major piece of information about Damon concerning Faith's belief in her destiny which Faith will have to overcome if there is to be a happy ending for the pair as opposed to a life of settling for Dwayne. Meanwhile, Kate's own love life may become more complicated as she is wooed by a suave Italian, a shop owner named Giovanni, who does know of Kate's marital status. — Huggo
• As a teenager, Faith uses an Ouija Board which reveals the name of her soulmate, Damon Bradley. She becomes certain he is her other half when a Gypsy with a crystal ball sees his name. "You make your own destiny, don't wait for it to come to you" she tells her. 14 years later Faith is a school teacher about to marry a controlling Podiatrist, Dwayne. She receives a call from a his old classmate, Damon Bradley, who is at the airport about to fly to Venice. Impulsively, Faith flees to the airport to find him but unfortunately his plane was taking off. She calls Kate, her sister-in-law and best friend, asking her to pack a bag for her. They both then fly to Venice, 10 days before Faith's wedding, looking for Damon Bradley without knowing anything else but his name. — Savannah C
• Schoolteacher Faith Corvatch believes she is destined to spend her life with a man named "Damon Bradley." Just days before she is to marry a podiatrist she may not love, she receives a phone call from a friend of her fiance's named, you guessed it, Damon Bradley. Bradley is on his way to Venice, and Faith decides to spend her Labor Day weekend pursuing her dream man. Accompanying her on the trip is her sister-in-law, Kate, who has just left her husband. — Ray Hamel <[email protected]>
• After playing with a Ouija board with her brother Larry, 11-year-old Faith Corvatch becomes convinced that her soulmate, the man she is destined to be with, is named "Damon Bradley." This belief is strengthened when a few years later a carnival fortune teller tells her that "Damon Bradley" is the name of the man she will marry. But the fortune teller also says that a person makes their own destiny. Fourteen years later, Faith (Marisa Tomei) is a teacher at a Catholic school and is engaged to a podiatrist Dwayne (John Benjamin Hickey). Faith is still slightly hesitant and is not fully sure that Dwayne is her life partner. Faith's sister-in-law Kate is not respected by her husband Larry. Larry has no passion for Kate, and only sees her as a glorified house help. Kate hates it when Larry patronizing her by calling her "doll". Faith is depressed when she is asked to wear her future mother-in-law's wedding gown, which is very old fashioned. Kate tells Faith that life is not "Happily Ever After" as sold by everybody. 10 days before their wedding, Faith gets a call from her fiance's high-school classmate Damon Bradley. Faith is shocked and feels this is destiny, but Damon is flying to Venice that day. Determined to meet him, Faith follows his trail with her sister-in-law Kate (Bonnie Hunt) from Pittsburgh through to Venice. They reach the hotel where Doman is staying only to find that he has already checked out. They search Damon's room to figure out that he had left for Rome and go after him by renting a car. Kate cannot read the Italian maps and the ladies are lost in the Italian countryside with their car out of gas. A group of nuns passing by provides them some gas. They reach an address in Rome, where Damon had called before leaving Venice, and meet a woman named Anna (Barbara Cupisti) who was supposed to meet Damon that evening. Anna now has a prior commitment and Faith offers to take her place instead. This is where Kate meets a suave Italian named Giovanni. They finally reach a street-side restaurant in Rome, but they never quite catch up with him. At the restaurant, Faith and Kate wait for Damon and find that he is one of the booths. Before Faith can meet him, Damon walks away, and Faith runs after him and loses her shoe. Faith meets a young American man but has no interest until he identifies himself as Damon Bradley. The man had approached Faith with her missing shoe and learns from Kate that Faith is looking for a man whose name she read off a Ouija board when she was 11 years old. They spend a romantic evening together and fall hopelessly in love. Then he reveals that his actual name is Peter Wright (Robert Downing Jr), so she angrily leaves him and prepares to fly back home. Meanwhile, a suave Italian businessman named Giovanni (Joaquim De Almeida) has been wooing Kate. Kate reveals that Larry cheated on her. Peter convinces Kate that meeting Faith was destiny for him too. He was not supposed to be in Italy, as he works in Boston. He was a last-minute replacement for a co-worker who got measles. And he ran into Faith at the Piazza. Peter says that Faith and he were supposed to find each other. The next morning, Peter tells Faith that he searched for Damon overnight and discovered that he has moved on to Positano. Giovanni agrees to drive the three Americans there. At a posh hotel, Faith meets Damon, a good-looking playboy, and invites him to dinner. Peter spies on them at the restaurant until Damon makes unwelcome sexual advances with Faith. It turns out that this "Damon" is really a friend of Peter's who has helped Peter stage the entire scene. Back in the United States, Larry (Fisher Stevens) finds out that his wife Kate is in Italy. He travels there to find her while Kate and Faith are again planning to return home. Larry arrives in time to make up with Kate. He also reveals to her that Faith's childhood "Damon Bradley" phenomenon was a prank: Larry intentionally spelled out the name on the Ouija board, then he paid the fortune teller to tell Faith that her true love had the same name. He hasn't told Faith the truth because he has been afraid, she would never speak to him again. Faith and Peter are at the airport when they hear Damon Bradley paged. At the information desk, they finally meet Damon (Adam LeFevre), who is not especially handsome. Peter explains to Damon why Faith has been following him. He also tells Damon that he (Peter) is in love with her, then boards his flight home to Boston. Damon asks Faith if she loves Peter. She realizes that she does and rushes to join Peter on his plane. The airport staff delays the flight until Faith can board. She and Peter embrace and kiss as the passengers and crew applaud. Their plane then flies into the sunset.

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Movie's ratings

• Kinorium 7.1 500+
• IMDb 6.5 25 635
• Critics 53% 36

Only You (Music from the Motion Picture)

Different stars.

• 1 Louis Armstrong Only You (And You Alone) 3:11
• 2 Rachel Portman Written In the Stars 1:14
• 3 Ezio Pinza Some Enchanted Evening 3:00
• 4 Rachel Portman I'm Coming With You 2:18
• 5 Rachel Portman Venice 1:50
• 6 Quartetto Gelato Featuring Peter De Sotto O Sole Mio (feat. Peter De Sotto) 3:07
• 7 Agnes Baltsa & José Carreras La Traviata: Libima Ne' Lieti Calici 2:56
• 8 Rachel Portman Lost In Tuscany 2:28
• 9 Rachel Portman Arriving At Damon's Restaurant 1:37
• 10 Rachel Portman Running After Damon 0:56
• 11 Rachel Portman Gypsy Blessing 3:20
• 12 Rachel Portman Positano 1:44
• 13 Quartetto Gelato Quartet In B-Flat Major: Ronda-Tempo Di Minuetto 4:52
• 14 Rachel Portman Do You Love Him? 3:13
• 15 Rachel Portman Theme from "Only You" 3:31
• 16 Michael Bolton Once In a Lifetime 5:55
• Cast & Crew
• Technical Data

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Norman Jewison — Top Rated Movies

Critique: 8

It is total fantasy, light as a feather, contrary to all notions of common sense… and it takes place mostly in Venice, Rome, and the glorious...

Mr. Jewison takes a voluptuously cornball approach to this story. And the story itself, by Diane Drake, is actually rather sweet.

Jewison knows exactly where the laugh and welling-up buttons are that will hook the audience into this middle-class fairy-tale-come-true, and has s...

Only You isn’t much more than target marketing for the Sleepless in Seattle crowd.

Downey doesn’t give us anything new, but he’s as engaging as ever, part puppy, part piston, fawning cutely but pulsing with horsepower.

«Only You» plays more like a pleasant travelogue than an involving film.

Movies like Only You and its obvious model, Sleepless in Seattle, are less true romances than they are collections of romantic signifiers.

Sweet, but cavity-inducing. And it’s hardly enough to make us believe the blank-faced Downey as a romantic lead.

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By Peter Travers

Peter Travers

Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr. are persuasively hot for each other, and director Norman Jewison shows his deftest comic touch since Moonstruck in detailing their sparring, but it is Italy — shot with shimmering grace instead of travel-agency gloss by cinematographer Sven Nykvist — that fills Only You with magical romance.

Italy also works wonders on a Cinderella-redux screenplay by Diane Drake that requires a massive suspension of disbelief Faith Corvatch (Tomei), a Pittsburgh schoolteacher, is convinced she is meant for Damon Bradley, a man she doesn’t know. But Faith believes in fate. A childhood encounter with a Ouija board and a fortuneteller gave her the name. Now the adult Faith is about to let go of her dream and marry a podiatrist. She is even trying on her bridal gown when a call comes in from a friend of her fiance’s. He is at the airport, headed for Venice, and can’t make the wedding. His name? Damon Bradley. Still in her gown, Faith rushes off to Italy to seek Damon and destiny. If you’re wondering why she doesn’t seek therapy instead, Only You is not for you.

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With is the kind of fuzzy-dreamer role that Meg Ryan has a lock on. It is hardly a knock on the sexy, sharp-witted Tomei to say that whimsy isn’t her strong suit. She didn’t win an Oscar for My Cousin Vinny by being a cupcake. Tomei is nobody’s fool, not even fate’s. It helps when Faith trades in Pittsburgh for Positano, a location better suited to amorous flights of fancy. It helps even more that Bonnie Hunt is along for the ride as Kate, Faith’s friend who has just left the husband (Fisher Stevens) she thinks is cheating on her. “Men should wear shirts with LIAR written on them,” says Kate, who ends up dangerously close to an Italian Romeo (Joaquim De Almeida of Clear and Present Danger ). Tart tongued and touching, Hunt is a find.

Downey, a world-class charmer, also scores points as an American shoe salesman who enjoys a lip-locked evening in Roma with Faith by telling her he is Damon. Is he? Or is the mystery man Billy Zane, hilarious as a brainless, boobgrabbing hunk Faith finds by a pool? No fair giving away secrets as the movie becomes a series of searches until Faith finds her man and her heart. Only You isn’t much more than target marketing for the Sleepless in Seattle crowd. But bella Italia supplies just the aphrodisiac to make it the current date movie of choice.

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‘only you’: film review.

Tang Wei of "Lust, Caution" stars in this Chinese remake of the 1994 Robert Downey Jr./Marisa Tomei rom-com.

By THR Staff

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Only You Still - H 2015

Hollywood seems intent on remaking almost every reasonably successful film from the ‘ 80s and ‘ 90s , so why shouldn’t other countries get in on the act? Thus the appearance of Only You , a Chinese redo of Norman Jewison ‘s 1994 rom-com of the same name starring Robert Downey, Jr . and Marisa Tomei in their youthful prime. But while director Zhang Hao ‘s debut feature covers roughly all of the same bases as the original, something seems to have been lost in translation.

The hackneyed plot concerns Fang Yuan ( Tang Wei of Lust, Caution and Michael Mann ‘s Blackhat ), a beautiful veterinarian engaged to a man for whom she has little passion. Having been told by not one but two fortunetellers that the true love of her life is named Song Kunming , she’s naturally excited when she receives a call from her fiance’s former college roommate whose name is exactly that. So, accompanied by her married friend Li Xiaotang ( Su Yan ), she impulsively jets to Milan, Italy to find him.

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She achieves her goal almost immediately when a handsome stranger who protects her from menacing hooligans turns out to be, yes, Song Kunming ( Lian Fan ). The pair soon retires to her hotel room, but just before they make love he has a crisis of conscience and confesses that he’s actually Feng Dali, an antiques dealer and restorer.

She angrily orders him away, but the next day a contrite Dali shows up and offers to escort the two women to Florence where the real Kunming is heading. Along the way Dali tries to woo her as himself, and although she finds herself periodically charmed by his gruff masculinity she resolves to stick to her plan. After several mishaps en route, the trio eventually arrives at their destination where they find Kunming , who turns out to be a pompous bore. But yet a further plot twist is in store.   

Read More Sandra Bullock: Five Things You Didn’t Know About the Actress

While the original film worked to some degree thanks to the charms of its lead performers, this sluggish remake fails to similarly enchant. This is due partly to the lack of chemistry between Tang and Liao , whose characters prove less than appealing, and partly to the story’s contrivances which director Zhang is unable to make remotely credible.

While it features plenty of gorgeous Italian scenery and the genre’s requisite gauzy montages and lush musical score, Only You mainly proves that China is just as capable as Hollywood of churning out formulaic mediocrities.

Production: Huayi Brothers Media Cast: Tang Wei, Liao Fan, Su Yan, Fang Fang, Xie Dongshen , Liu Tao Director: Zhang Hao Screenwriter: Zhao Shao Producers: Feng Xiaogang , Zhang Shu Executive producer: Wang Zhongjun Director of photography: Shu Chou Production designer: Di Ren Composer: On Ge

Not rated, 114 min.

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Only You review – a sad, tender and gloriously sexy love story

Instant attraction on New Year’s Eve – and a little white lie – lead a young couple down the poignant path from passion to heartache

M ovies about love at first sight are common enough and so are movies that track the bittersweet season cycle of a relationship’s first year. Then there are movies about a relationship further down the road, brutally tested by the agony of fertility treatment – such as Tamara Jenkins’s excellent Private Life , from 2018 – involving older people who have had ample time to jettison any youthfully naive illusions they may have had about themselves, about each other and about life itself. The marvel of this Glasgow-set debut film from writer-director Harry Wootliff is to make these genres overlap. It’s a poignant and compelling Venn diagram of passion and heartache.

There is enormous tenderness and sensuality in the lead performances: from Spanish actor Laia Costa, the star of Sebastian Schipper’s single-take thriller Victoria (2015) and from Josh O’Connor, previously seen in Francis Lee’s God’s Own Country (2017) and shortly to play Prince Charles in Netflix’s The Crown . They are respectively Elena and Jake: she is working in arts centre administration and he is a postgrad student doing research in marine biology.

Wootliff playfully creates an opening situation of almost Richard Curtis-style romcomness. Elena is hanging out with friends her own age at a New Year’s Eve party. They are all in their mid-thirties and are deep into conversations about relationships, coupledom, singledom. Elena herself is single and she is being seriously hit on by a pretty good-looking man known to her female friends as a nice sort, a solid guy – and a catch.

But Elena isn’t sure and she feels that kissing someone at a party and going home with them involves a greater commitment than it might have done 10 years previously. But should she just get over herself and settle?

Tired, uncertain, unhappy, queasy from that particularly joyless kind of drinking that only happens on New Year’s Eve, Elena leaves the party and tries to flag down a taxi, which ignores her and swerves instead to Jake (O’Connor) further down the pavement. Mortified at Elena’s protests, Jake offers to share the taxi with her and things develop in the time-honoured way.

But Elena makes a fateful judgment call back at her place: Jake is only 26 and she – eager not to freak him out – pretends that she is only a couple of years older. On the face of it, this is not a very serious problem. They are passionately, almost magically in love and the white lie is soon removed from the record. But Wootliff shows us how this initial deceit creates a subtle, insidious imbalance deep in the relationship’s foundation.

Elena’s guilt for her fib leads her to second guess his reaction and magnify her own qualms about landing this younger guy with an older woman for a long-term partner. But Jake doesn’t objectify Elena this way and his romanticism, idealism and instinctive gallantry are all magnified by his concerns on the hardly yet spoken subject of Elena’s ticking biological clock. So they rush, without really thinking about it, into thoughts of what they need to do to have a family.

Costa and O’Connor give us such gentleness and intelligence. Just as in Andrew Haigh’s Weekend (2011) there is a rush of glorious sexiness and sexual pleasure at the very beginning and then something awe-inspiring and moving as Wootliff allows the audience to realise, at the same time as Elena and Jake, that things are serious. When Jake and Elena smiled at each other, I found myself smiling like an idiot as well. And it was the same story when they were suppressing tears.

Perhaps the shrewdest moment is the use of Elvis Costello’s song I Want You from the 1986 album Blood and Chocolate, the music of pain in love. It is what Jake selects to play when he comes back to Elena’s place that first time (as a part-time DJ, he takes it on himself to praise her record collection) and it is the music they fall in love to. This ominous song is the wicked witch that presents their newborn romance with the gift of disenchantment.

Only You is not without flaws. It is a bit overdone when somehow all the parties and social events attended by Jake and Elena are overrun by tiny babies and placidly beaming mums. But their love looks overwhelmingly real. These are people who, moment by moment, are making the secular-romantic equivalent of Pascal’s wager. They are betting on themselves and betting on love.

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Only You Parent Guide

Why is Only You rated PG? The MPAA rated Only You PG

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The guide to our grades, parent movie review by rod gustafson.

Faith is a girl who acts on a whim. At the age of eleven, a Ouiji board (with some help from her brother Larry) told her she would marry Damon Bradley. A few years later, a fortune teller (with more help from Larry) told her the same thing. Now she’s all grown up, and is due to marry Dwayne, until an old school buddy calls to say he can’t make the wedding because he must leave for Venice. Of course, we know what his name is.

Her good friend Kate has a happy marriage with her brother Larry, but when she decides to follow Faith to Venice, she suddenly sees a whole new world, full of attractive Italian men. So while Faith is hunting for Damon, Kate is strolling the canals with Giovanni, her new found Italian friend, while both their men are still at home, working hard, and not sure where their wife and fiancee have gone.

The good news is that Kate does decide that life with her husband Larry is better than with Giovanni, and Larry even shows up in Venice at the end of her tour so that they can return home happily together. Faith does find another man, and the poor podiatrist is never seen again, but that’s the way love goes…

The good part of Only You is that there is very little sex (during one scene, Faith and Peter fall onto a bed completely clothed and are immediately interrupted), the language is tame, and there is just a bit of macho violence. But the lack of these elements does not always make a good movie. So if you are looking for a romance, you can be sure Only You won’t offend—but it might just put you to sleep.

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A24’s “Civil War,” the latest film from “Ex Machina” and “Men” director Alex Garland , imagines a third-term president ruling over a divided America and follows the journalists driving through the war-torn countryside on a mission to land his final interview. The movie is pulse-pounding and contemplative, as the characters tumble from one tense encounter to the next and ruminate on the nature of journalism and wartime photography.

In his review of the film, The Times’ Joshua Rothkopf wrote, “‘Civil War’ will remind you of the great combat films , the nauseating artillery ping of ‘Saving Private Ryan,’ the surreal up-is-down journey of ‘Apocalypse Now.’ It also bears a pronounced connection to the 2002 zombie road movie scripted by its writer-director Alex Garland, ‘28 Days Later.’”

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'Civil War' review: Kirsten Dunst leads visceral look at consequences of a divided America

We see “Civil War” trending on social media all too commonly in our divided country, for one reason or another, and usually nodding to extreme cultural or ideological differences. With his riveting new action thriller of the same name, writer/director Alex Garland delivers a riveting cautionary tale that forces viewers to confront its terrifying real-life consequences.

“Civil War” (★★★½ out of four; rated R; in theaters Friday) imagines a near-future America that’s dystopian in vision but still realistic enough to be eerily unnerving. It's a grounded, well-acted ode to the power of journalism and a thought-provoking, visceral fireball of an anti-war movie.

Played exceptionally by Kirsten Dunst , Lee is an acclaimed war photographer covering a fractured America: The Western Forces led by California and Texas have seceded from the USA and are days away from a final siege on the federal government. Lee and her reporting partner Joel (Wagner Moura) have been tasked with traveling from New York City to Washington to interview the president (Nick Offerman) before the White House falls.

After visually capturing humanity's worst moments, Lee is as world-weary and jaded as one can be. But after saving aspiring photographer Jessie (Cailee Spaeny) during a Brooklyn suicide bombing, Lee becomes a reluctant mentor as the young woman worms her way into their crew. Also in the press van: senior journalist Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson), hitching a ride to the Western Forces military base in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Most of “Civil War” is an episodic odyssey where Lee and company view the mighty toll taken by this conflict: the graveyard of cars on what’s left of I-95, for example, or how an innocent-looking holiday stop turns deadly courtesy of an unseen shooter. Primarily, however, it’s a disturbing internal examination of what happens when we turn on each other, when weekend warriors take up arms against trained soldiers, or armed neighbors are given a way to do bad things to people they just don’t like.

'No dark dialogue!': Kirsten Dunst says 5-year-old son helped her run lines for 'Civil War'

Given its polarizing nature, “Civil War" is actually not that "political." Garland doesn’t explain what led to the secession or much of the historical backstory, and even Offerman’s president isn’t onscreen enough to dig into any real-life inspirations, outside of some faux bluster in the face of certain defeat. (He’s apparently in his third term and dismantled the FBI, so probably not a big Constitutionalist.)

Rather than two hours of pointing fingers, Garland is more interested in depicting the effect of a civil war rather than the cause. As one sniper points out in a moment when Lee and Joel are trying not to die, when someone’s shooting a gun at you, it doesn’t matter what side you’re on or who’s good and who's bad.

The director’s intellectual filmography has explored everything from ecological issues ( “Annihilation” ) to AI advancement ( “Ex Machina” ), and there are all sorts of heady themes at play in “Civil War.” “What kind of American are you?” asks a racist soldier played with a steady, ruthless cruelty by Jesse Plemons (Dunst's husband) in a disturbing scene that nods to an even deeper conflict in society than the one torching this fictionalized version. There's also an underlying sense of apathy that the characters face, with hints that much of the country is just willfully ignoring the conflict because they'd rather not think about it. But this hellish road trip also maintains a sense of hopefulness − via the growing relationship between Lee and Jessie – and is pretty exciting even with its multitude of horrors.

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“Civil War” is a thoughtful movie with blockbuster ambitions, and while it does embrace more of a straightforward action flick vibe toward its climactic end, Garland still lands a lasting gut punch. He immerses audiences in the unpredictable nature of war, with gunfire and explosions leaving even the calmest sort on edge, and paints a sprawling canvas of an America forever changed. Thankfully, it’s just a warning and not a promise, using the movie theater as a public service announcement rather than an escape from the real world.

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‘Civil War’ Review: We Have Met the Enemy and It Is Us. Again.

In Alex Garland’s tough new movie, a group of journalists led by Kirsten Dunst, as a photographer, travels a United States at war with itself.

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‘Civil War’ | Anatomy of a Scene

The writer and director alex garland narrates a sequence from his film..

“My name is Alex Garland and I’m the writer director of ‘Civil War’. So this particular clip is roughly around the halfway point of the movie and it’s these four journalists and they’re trying to get, in a very circuitous route, from New York to DC, and encountering various obstacles on the way. And this is one of those obstacles. What they find themselves stuck in is a battle between two snipers. And they are close to one of the snipers and the other sniper is somewhere unseen, but presumably in a large house that sits over a field and a hill. It’s a surrealist exchange and it’s surrounded by some very surrealist imagery, which is they’re, in broad daylight in broad sunshine, there’s no indication that we’re anywhere near winter in the filming. In fact, you can kind of tell it’s summer. But they’re surrounded by Christmas decorations. And in some ways, the Christmas decorations speak of a country, which is in disrepair, however silly it sounds. If you haven’t put away your Christmas decorations, clearly something isn’t going right.” “What’s going on?” “Someone in that house, they’re stuck. We’re stuck.” “And there’s a bit of imagery. It felt like it hit the right note. But the interesting thing about that imagery was that it was not production designed. We didn’t create it. We actually literally found it. We were driving along and we saw all of these Christmas decorations, basically exactly as they are in the film. They were about 100 yards away, just piled up by the side of the road. And it turned out, it was a guy who’d put on a winter wonderland festival. People had not dug his winter wonderland festival, and he’d gone bankrupt. And he had decided just to leave everything just strewn around on a farmer’s field, who was then absolutely furious. So in a way, there’s a loose parallel, which is the same implication that exists within the film exists within real life.” “You don’t understand a word I say. Yo. What’s over there in that house?” “Someone shooting.” “It’s to do with the fact that when things get extreme, the reasons why things got extreme no longer become relevant and the knife edge of the problem is all that really remains relevant. So it doesn’t actually matter, as it were, in this context, what side they’re fighting for or what the other person’s fighting for. It’s just reduced to a survival.”

By Manohla Dargis

A blunt, gut-twisting work of speculative fiction, “Civil War” opens with the United States at war with itself — literally, not just rhetorically. In Washington, D.C., the president is holed up in the White House; in a spookily depopulated New York, desperate people wait for water rations. It’s the near-future, and rooftop snipers, suicide bombers and wild-eyed randos are in the fight while an opposition faction with a two-star flag called the Western Forces, comprising Texas and California — as I said, this is speculative fiction — is leading the charge against what remains of the federal government. If you’re feeling triggered, you aren’t alone.

It’s mourning again in America, and it’s mesmerizingly, horribly gripping. Filled with bullets, consuming fires and terrific actors like Kirsten Dunst running for cover, the movie is a what-if nightmare stoked by memories of Jan. 6. As in what if the visions of some rioters had been realized, what if the nation was again broken by Civil War, what if the democratic experiment called America had come undone? If that sounds harrowing, you’re right. It’s one thing when a movie taps into childish fears with monsters under the bed; you’re eager to see what happens because you know how it will end (until the sequel). Adult fears are another matter.

In “Civil War,” the British filmmaker Alex Garland explores the unbearable if not the unthinkable, something he likes to do. A pop cultural savant, he made a splashy zeitgeist-ready debut with his 1996 best seller “The Beach,” a novel about a paradise that proves deadly, an evergreen metaphor for life and the basis for a silly film . That things in the world are not what they seem, and are often far worse, is a theme that Garland has continued pursuing in other dark fantasies, first as a screenwriter (“ 28 Days Later ”), and then as a writer-director (“ Ex Machina ”). His résumé is populated with zombies, clones and aliens, though reliably it is his outwardly ordinary characters you need to keep a closer watch on.

By the time “Civil War” opens, the fight has been raging for an undisclosed period yet long enough to have hollowed out cities and people’s faces alike. It’s unclear as to why the war started or who fired the first shot. Garland does scatter some hints; in one ugly scene, a militia type played by a jolting, scarily effective Jesse Plemons asks captives “what kind of American” they are. Yet whatever divisions preceded the conflict are left to your imagination, at least partly because Garland assumes you’ve been paying attention to recent events. Instead, he presents an outwardly and largely post-ideological landscape in which debates over policies, politics and American exceptionalism have been rendered moot by war.

‘Civil War’ Is Designed to Disturb You

One thing that remains familiar amid these ruins is the movie’s old-fashioned faith in journalism. Dunst, who’s sensational, plays Lee, a war photographer who works for Reuters alongside her friend, a reporter, Joel (the charismatic Wagner Moura). They’re in New York when you meet them, milling through a crowd anxiously waiting for water rations next to a protected tanker. It’s a fraught scene; the restless crowd is edging into mob panic, and Lee, camera in hand, is on high alert. As Garland’s own camera and Joel skitter about, Lee carves a path through the chaos, as if she knows exactly where she needs to be — and then a bomb goes off. By the time it does, an aspiring photojournalist, Jessie (Cailee Spaeny), is also in the mix.

The streamlined, insistently intimate story takes shape once Lee, Joel, Jessie and a veteran reporter, Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson), pile into a van and head to Washington. Joel and Lee are hoping to interview the president (Nick Offerman), and Sammy and Jessie are riding along largely so that Garland can make the trip more interesting. Sammy serves as a stabilizing force (Henderson fills the van with humanizing warmth), while Jessie plays the eager upstart Lee takes under her resentful wing. It’s a tidily balanced sampling that the actors, with Garland’s banter and via some cozy downtime, turn into flesh-and-blood personalities, people whose vulnerability feeds the escalating tension with each mile.

As the miles and hours pass, Garland adds diversions and hurdles, including a pair of playful colleagues, Tony and Bohai (Nelson Lee and Evan Lai), and some spooky dudes guarding a gas station. Garland shrewdly exploits the tense emptiness of the land, turning strangers into potential threats and pretty country roads into ominously ambiguous byways. Smartly, he also recurrently focuses on Lee’s face, a heartbreakingly hard mask that Dunst lets slip brilliantly. As the journey continues, Garland further sketches in the bigger picture — the dollar is near-worthless, the F.B.I. is gone — but for the most part, he focuses on his travelers and the engulfing violence, the smoke and the tracer fire that they often don’t notice until they do.

Despite some much-needed lulls (for you, for the narrative rhythm), “Civil War” is unremittingly brutal or at least it feels that way. Many contemporary thrillers are far more overtly gruesome than this one, partly because violence is one way unimaginative directors can put a distinctive spin on otherwise interchangeable material: Cue the artful fountains of arterial spray. Part of what makes the carnage here feel incessant and palpably realistic is that Garland, whose visual approach is generally unfussy, doesn’t embellish the violence, turning it into an ornament of his virtuosity. Instead, the violence is direct, at times shockingly casual and unsettling, so much so that its unpleasantness almost comes as a surprise.

If the violence feels more intense than in a typical genre shoot ’em up, it’s also because, I think, with “Civil War,” Garland has made the movie that’s long been workshopped in American political discourse and in mass culture, and which entered wider circulation on Jan. 6. The raw power of Garland’s vision unquestionably owes much to the vivid scenes that beamed across the world that day when rioters, some wearing T-shirts emblazoned with “ MAGA civil war ,” swarmed the Capitol. Even so, watching this movie, I also flashed on other times in which Americans have relitigated the Civil War directly and not, on the screen and in the streets.

Movies have played a role in that relitigation for more than a century, at times grotesquely. Two of the most famous films in history — D.W. Griffith’s 1915 racist epic “The Birth of a Nation” (which became a Ku Klux Klan recruitment tool) and the romantic 1939 melodrama “Gone With the Wind” — are monuments to white supremacy and the myth of the Southern Lost Cause. Both were critical and popular hits. In the decades since, filmmakers have returned to the Civil War era to tell other stories in films like “Glory,” “Lincoln” and “Django Unchained” that in addressing the American past inevitably engage with its present.

There are no lofty or reassuring speeches in “Civil War,” and the movie doesn’t speak to the better angels of our nature the way so many films try to. Hollywood’s longstanding, deeply American imperative for happy endings maintains an iron grip on movies, even in ostensibly independent productions. There’s no such possibility for that in “Civil War.” The very premise of Garland’s movie means that — no matter what happens when or if Lee and the rest reach Washington — a happy ending is impossible, which makes this very tough going. Rarely have I seen a movie that made me so acutely uncomfortable or watched an actor’s face that, like Dunst’s, expressed a nation’s soul-sickness so vividly that it felt like an X-ray.

Civil War Rated R for war violence and mass death. Running time: 1 hour 49 minutes. In theaters.

An earlier version of this review misidentified an organization in the Civil War in the movie. It is the Western Forces, not the Western Front.

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Manohla Dargis is the chief film critic for The Times. More about Manohla Dargis

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