The Best Offer - clunky, uninspired

VIRGIL Oldman (Geoffrey Rush) is a suave, successful antiques dealer and auctioneer with his own auction house, a home full of beautiful things and an air of superiority that his employees and clients are exposed to on a daily basis. He also has an aversion to germs but his big weakness is women - specifically female portraits by famous masters - a weakness that often results in a clever con where he deliberately undervalues an item so that his buddy Billy (Donald Sutherland) can bid for it on his behalf.

The signal for Billy to buy something is when Virgil utters the phrase "the best offer", which also happens to be the name of this clunky, uninspired thriller-drama, written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore (Cinema Paradiso). Virgil spends most of his free time alone at home admiring his extensive collection, which is tucked away in a hidden room behind an impressive shelf lined with of dozens of gloves. For years, Virgil has dismissed Billy's own painterly ambitions. "You have to look for the inner mystery in artworks," he says.

Virgil's well-ordered world is turned upside down when he is contacted by Claire (Sylvia Hoeks), a mysterious young woman who asks him to value the contents of her dilapidated family villa, now that her parents have passed away. She keeps cancelling appointments but Virgil's curiosity is piqued, especially since the home is filled with antique treasures. Oddly, he keeps finding small mechanical parts - like the pieces of an incomplete puzzle - scattered around the villa.