Dark Eyes

In addition to winning the best actor prize at Cannes, Marcello Mastroianni landed an Oscar nomination for his bravura performance in this self-conscious amalgamation of four Chekhov short stories. Directing with a fine eye for period detail, Nikita Mikhalkov robs the action of its social and pyschological subtlety by calling for grandiloquent gestures and stereotypical characterisations, which turn delicate situations into potboiler set pieces. As an ageing but unregenerate playboy, the ever astute Mastroianni is able to give a shaded performance. Wife Silvia Mangano, mistress Marthe Keller and the elusive "Lady with the little dog", Elena Sofonova, aren't give the same chance to shine.