Review of A Matter of Time

Okay, after years of reading how Vincente Minnelli's final movie, which happened to star his daughter Liza, was taken out of his hands by the powers-that-be at American International and resulting in a mess panned by critics and ignored by the public, I finally DVRed A Matter of Time from the THIS movie channel and having watched this, I have to say that while there are some flaws, it was still fascinating to view and I was pretty entertained by it. Reminiscing in flashback as a now popular movie star, Liza plays a newly arrived maid in a formerly grand hotel who gets acquainted with a former countess played by Ingrid Bergman who seems to live in the past. Other notable appearances include Charles Boyer as Bergman's former husband and, in her debut role, Ingrid's daughter Isabella Rossellini as a nun who presides over her as she dies. I did get a little confused when I realized that the flashback was supposed to take place in the mid-20th century yet I see mostly modern cars and hairstyles of the '70s during that time and afterwards. Despite this-not to mention some of the Rome scenes that looked like inserts since Liza doesn't appear in them-her father's touches still show through as recognizably his. And it's always a pleasure to see Ms. Minnelli singing whether new tunes by John Kander and Fred Ebb or a classic one by George Gershwin and Buddy DeSylva called "Do It Again". I also thought Liza was quite good under her father's direction and was made to look great with the clothing she wore. The print I saw wasn't great looking and the dubbing seemed a little off at some points. Still, if you're a film buff curious about this last work from Vincente Minnelli and Charles Boyer, I do recommend-with some reservations-A Matter of Time. P.S. As a native of Chicago, Ill., I have to acknowledge Mr. Minnelli's roots there as well.