Puccini for Beginners (2006) Movie Review

『A Warm Coming-of-Age Story Woven with Music and Love』

🎥 Movie Overview

🎬 Title: Puccini for Beginners (2006)
🌍 Country: 🇺🇸 USA
🎞️ Genre: Romance / Drama / Queer
🗓️ Production & Release: Independent film, 2006 release
⏳ Runtime: Approx. 90 minutes
📢 Director: Maria Maggenti
🖋️ Screenwriter: Maria Maggenti
📺 Platform: DVD and select streaming services (varies by region)

👩‍💼 Cast: Elizabeth Reaser – Allegra
Gretchen Mol – Grace
Julianne Nicholson – Samantha

🧩 Story Deep Dive (Spoilers)

🎶 Commitment Phobia and Breakup

Allegra, a writer living in New York, loves opera and identifies as a lesbian, but suffers from severe commitment phobia. Her girlfriend, Samantha, after a 9-month relationship, becomes unsure whether Allegra truly loves her and eventually ends the relationship. Samantha hints that she may return to her ex-boyfriend upon leaving.

👩 Meeting a Man and the Beginning of New Feelings

Heartbroken, Allegra meets Philip, an attractive philosophy professor, at a party. They connect over Allegra’s novels and shared love of opera, feeling a strong attraction. Allegra, emphasizing her lesbian identity, hesitates to pursue a relationship with Philip but eventually spends an impulsive night with him. Conflicted, she continues seeing Philip. Philip becomes deeply infatuated with Allegra and breaks up with his girlfriend to be with her.

💬 Another Woman and the Perfect Love Triangle

While dating Philip, Allegra encounters the beautiful Grace outside a movie theater, crying. Grace is reeling from an abrupt breakup with Philip. Drawn to Grace, Allegra begins a romantic relationship with her as well, carefully hiding the dual relationships from both Philip and Grace while genuinely liking both. During her dates, Allegra discovers that Philip’s ex-girlfriend is Grace. Shocked, she chooses not to reveal this fact, continuing the precarious situation.

🎭 The Revelation

Philip and Grace believe they are each seeing different people, unaware that both are dating Allegra. Allegra is in charge of catering at Samantha’s engagement party, where both Philip and Grace unexpectedly appear. They realize they are dating the same person—Allegra—causing chaos. Allegra’s dual relationships are publicly exposed at the party. She recognizes that her actions stemmed not from sexual orientation but from a deep fear of commitment, leading her to self-reflect profoundly.

🦋 Emotional Resonance and Significance

🎼 Commitment Phobia, Not Sexual Fluidity

The film’s most striking element is Allegra’s complex double life—dating a man (Philip) and another woman (Grace) after being rejected by her girlfriend Samantha due to her fear of commitment.

Core Issue: The movie is not fundamentally about sexual identity. Allegra’s true struggle is her commitment phobia. She is genuinely attracted to both Philip and Grace but cannot say “I love you” to either and feels anxious and avoidant when a serious relationship develops. Seeing both simultaneously is a self-protective, self-destructive mechanism to shield herself from authentic emotion.

Breaking Identity Boundaries: The film lightly portrays sexual fluidity through Allegra identifying as a lesbian yet feeling drawn to a man, and Grace, previously heterosexual, forming a relationship with Allegra. This avoids clichés of “lesbians turning straight” and instead emphasizes, as Philip says, that love has no boundaries and attraction can be serendipitous.

As the title suggests, like Puccini’s passionate operas, the characters’ loves and conflicts are dramatic and unpredictable. Director Maria Maggenti skillfully intertwines music with the emotional arc, guiding the audience to deeply empathize with the characters. It symbolically illustrates that love is not “for beginners” but that everyone is a novice in navigating it.

🌟 Style and Direction: Woody Allen-esque New York Banter

Director Maria Maggenti successfully channels the intellectual comedy style reminiscent of early Woody Allen films.

Witty Dialogue: The film is full of sharp, clever exchanges centered around the philosophy professor Philip and writer Allegra. The self-reflective, slightly neurotic humor of New York’s intellectual circles gives the film a brisk, lively rhythm.

New York as a Stage: Set in Manhattan, characters frequently cross paths like in a small town, enhancing both chance encounters and dramatic elements. This maximizes tension in the climactic party revelation, giving it operatic suspense.

Use of Music: As the title suggests, Puccini’s passionate opera music underscores Allegra’s emotional turmoil and love whirlpools, adding depth and irony to the screwball comedy.

🎯 Personal Rating

💕 Love Scene Intensity: ♥♥
⭐ Overall Rating: ★★★☆