''The Little Hours'' is a 2017 American

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

black comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the olde ...

written and directed by

Jeff Baena Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson or Jeffrey, which comes from a medieval variant of Geoffrey. Music * DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ/turntablist record producer Jeffrey Allen Townes * ...

. The film is loosely based on the first and second stories of day three of ten of ''

The Decameron ''The Decameron'' (; it, label=Italian, Decameron or ''Decamerone'' ), subtitled ''Prince Galehaut'' (Old it, Prencipe Galeotto, links=no ) and sometimes nicknamed ''l'Umana commedia'' ("the Human comedy", as it was Boccaccio that dubbed D ...

'', a collection of

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...

s by

Giovanni Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was somet ...

, a 14th-century Italian writer. It stars an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to ...

featuring

Alison Brie Alison Brie Schermerhorn (born December 29, 1982) is an American actress. Her breakthrough came with the role of Trudy Campbell in the drama series ''Mad Men'' (2007–2015), which won her a Screen Actors Guild Award. She gained recognition for ...

Dave Franco David John Franco (born June 12, 1985) is an American actor. He began his career with small roles in films such as '' Superbad'' (2007) and ''Charlie St. Cloud'' (2010). Following a starring role in the ninth season of the comedy series '' Scru ...

Kate Micucci Kate Micucci ( ; born March 31, 1980) is an American actress, comedian and musician who is half of the musical comedy duo Garfunkel and Oates. Some of her roles include Stephanie Gooch in '' Scrubs'', Ally in Til Death'', Shelley in ''Raisi ...

Aubrey Plaza Aubrey Christina Plaza (born June 26, 1984) is an American actress, comedian, and producer. She began her career performing improv and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. She starred as April Ludgate on the NBC sitcom ''Park ...

John C. Reilly John Christopher Reilly (born May 24, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, musician, producer, and writer. After his film debut in ''Casualties of War'' (1989), he gained exposure through his supporting roles in '' Days of Thunder'' (1990), '' ...

, and

Molly Shannon Molly Helen Shannon (born September 16, 1964) is an American actress and comedian who was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 2001. In 2017, she won the Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in ...

. Set in the 14th century, the film is told in an

anachronistic An anachronism (from the Greek , 'against' and , 'time') is a chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time periods. The most common ty ...

style with contemporary dialogue and behavior. The plot jointly follows the lives of three

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

s at a

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican C ...

in the countryside who try to

fornicate Fornication is generally consensual sexual intercourse between two people not married to each other. When one or more of the partners having consensual sexual intercourse is married to another person, it is called adultery. Nonetheless, John Ca ...

with a young gardener posing as a

deaf-mute Deaf-mute is a term which was used historically to identify a person who was either deaf and used sign language or both deaf and could not speak. The term continues to be used to refer to deaf people who cannot speak an oral language or have som ...

after he escapes from being punished by his

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or ar ...

for

adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

with the man's wife. The film held its world premiere at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

on January 19, 2017, and was released on June 30, 2017, by

Gunpowder & Sky Gunpowder & Sky is a Los Angeles-based independent studio that produces feature films, series, short-form content, and podcasts. The company was founded in 2016 by Van Toffler and Floris Bauer. History In January 2016 Van Toffler (former CEO o ...

. The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise for the cast's performances.

Plot

In the year 1347 in

Garfagnana The Garfagnana () is a historical and geographical region of central Italy, today part of the province of Lucca, in Tuscany. It is the upper valley or basin of the river Serchio, and thus lies between the main ridge of the Northern Apennines to ...

, Italy, a convent of nuns is led by Father Tommasso. The three nuns at the center of the story are: Alessandra, who wants a better life for herself but is held at the convent due to her father's support of the church; Ginevra, a gossip who is later revealed to be a Jewish lesbian; and Fernanda, a violent sadist. The three of them routinely assault the friendly gardener Lurco, who quits in disgust. Meanwhile, in

Lunigiana The Lunigiana () is a historical territory of Italy, which today falls within the provinces of Massa Carrara, Tuscany, and La Spezia, Liguria. Its borders derive from the ancient Roman settlement, later the medieval diocese of Luni, which no lon ...

, a young servant named Massetto is caught having sex with his master's wife. While on the run, he discovers Father Tommasso, who has gone to sell some embroidery but has instead gotten drunk and lost his possessions in the river. Massetto helps him return home and the two arrange to have Massetto work as a gardener while pretending to be a

, in hopes that this will dissuade the nuns from giving him trouble. Fernanda's friend Marta appears and encourages Alessandra and Ginevra to get drunk with the sacramental wine while explaining how being with a man is the greatest possible pleasure. Fernanda takes Ginevra back to her room, where they have sex. Massetto and Alessandra form a close bond, while Ginevra develops feelings for Fernanda. Later, Fernanda kidnaps Massetto at knife-point and takes him into the forest, where she meets up with a

coven A coven () is a group or gathering of witches. The word "coven" (from Anglo-Norman ''covent, cuvent'', from Old French ''covent'', from Latin ''conventum'' = convention) remained largely unused in English until 1921 when Margaret Murray promote ...

witches Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

. She attempts to perform a fertility ritual with Massetto but is stopped by the arrival of Alessandra and Ginevra. Ginevra, under the hallucinogenic effects of belladonna, takes off her clothes and begins dancing and steals the convent's donkey. Massetto reveals that he is not a deaf-mute while trying to free himself. They return to the convent, and all of their secrets are revealed in the presence of the visiting Bishop Bartolomeo. Father Tommasso is sent away to become a monk after it is discovered that he and the Mother Superior are in love and have a secret relationship. Massetto is returned to his master and is held in a jail cell with the impending threat of torture and death until the three nuns (who have reconciled and formed an even stronger friendship) help him escape. While Alessandra, Massetto, Ginevra, and Fernanda run hand-in-hand back to the convent, the Mother Superior and Father Tommasso have met up in secret under the pretense that the Mother Superior has gone to retrieve the donkey. They hide as the nuns and Massetto run by. Fernanda stops and stares in puzzlement at the once again freed donkey that she herself used as an excuse so many times to escape the convent, until Ginevra pulls her away. With the group gone, Father Tommasso and Mother Superior embrace and smile at each other.

Cast

as Sister Alessandra *

as Massetto *

as Sister Ginevra *

as Sister Fernanda *

as Father Tommasso *

as Mother Marea *

Fred Armisen Fereydun Robert Armisen (born December 4, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. With his comedy partner Carrie Brownstein, Armisen was the co-creator and co-star of the IFC sketch comedy series ''Portlandia''. He ...

as Bishop Bartolomeo *

Jemima Kirke Jemima Jo M Kirke (born 26 April 1985) is a British-American artist, actress and director. She gained international acclaim through her role as Jessa Johansson on the HBO series ''Girls''. She made her film debut in the 2005 indie short '' Smi ...

as Marta *

Nick Offerman Nicholas David Offerman (born June 26, 1970) is an American actor, writer, comedian, producer, and carpenter. He is best known for his role as Ron Swanson in the NBC sitcom ''Parks and Recreation'', for which he received the Television Critics ...

as Lord Bruno *

Lauren Weedman Lauren Weedman (born March 5, 1969) is an American actress and comedian, known for her regular role on the HBO television series '' Looking'' (2014–2015), and its subsequent series finale television film, '' Looking: The Movie''. She is also kno ...

as Francesca *

Paul Reiser Paul Reiser (; born March 30, 1956) is an American actor, comedian, and television writer. He is known for his roles as Michael Taylor in the 1980s sitcom ''My Two Dads'', Paul Buchman in the NBC sitcom ''Mad About You'', Modell in the 1982 fi ...

as Ilario *

Adam Pally Adam Saul Pally (born March 18, 1982) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for starring as Max Blum in the ABC comedy series '' Happy Endings'' and as Dr. Peter Prentice in ''The Mindy Project''. He also starre ...

as Guard Paolo * Paul Weitz as Lurco * Jon Gabrus as Guard Gregorio

Production

In April 2016, it was announced that

had written and would direct a film starring

, Jon Gabrus,

, and Paul Weitz. It was also announced that Liz Destro of Destro Films would be producing the film, with StarStream Media and Bow and Arrow Entertainment executive producing along with Productivity Media, and Exhibit Entertainment and Foton Pictures. Dan Romer composed the film's score. The screenplay is based on the first and second tales of the third day in ''

'', a collection of novellas by

; however, the dialogue was improvised. The sets were accurate to the medieval period, but the behavior and language are contemporary. Filming locations included towns in the Tuscan province of

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one ...

Castiglione di Garfagnana Castiglione di Garfagnana is a medieval walled town and ''comune'' of 1,878 inhabitants in the province of Lucca. It sits on a hillside above the river Esarulo, a tributary of the Serchio. The town is renowned for the band Filarmonica Alpina, fo ...

Castelnuovo di Garfagnana Castelnuovo di Garfagnana is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Lucca, Toscana, central Italy. It is located at the confluence of the Serchio and the Turrite Secca rivers, close to the intersection of roads passing through the Apennine Mount ...

, Pieve Fosciana, and

Camporgiano Camporgiano is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lucca in the Italian region Tuscany, located about northwest of Florence and about northwest of Lucca. Camporgiano borders the following municipalities: Careggine, Castelnuovo di Ga ...

. The castle scene was filmed in

Fosdinovo Fosdinovo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Massa and Carrara in the Italian region Tuscany, located about northwest of Florence and about northwest of Massa. Fosdinovo borders the following municipalities: Aulla, Carrara, Ca ...

, Province of Massa Carrara.

Release

The film had its world premiere at the

on January 19, 2017. Shortly after, Gunpowder & Sky acquired distribution rights to the film. It was released on June 30, 2017.

Reception

Box office

''The Little Hours'' grossed a total of $1,647,175. The film opened in two theaters on its opening weekend and grossed $61,560.

Critical reception

''The Little Hours'' received positive reviews from film critics. It holds a 78% approval rating on review aggregator website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, based on 128 reviews, with a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

of 6.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "''The Little Hours'' gets plenty of goofy mileage out of its gifted ensemble, anchoring its ribald laughs in a period comedy with some surprisingly timely subtext." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc D ...

, the film holds a rating of 69 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Little Hours, The 2017 films 2017 black comedy films American independent films Films directed by Jeff Baena Films scored by Dan Romer Films set in the 14th century Nuns in fiction The Decameron Films about Catholic nuns Films about sexual repression Films set in Italy Films based on works by Giovanni Boccaccio Nunsploitation films American black comedy films 2017 independent films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films