The Little Hours

The Little Hours is a 2017 American medieval black comedy film written and directed by Jeff Baena. The film is loosely based on the first and second stories of day three of ten of The Decameron, a collection of novellas by Giovanni Boccaccio, a 14th-century Italian writer. It stars an ensemble cast featuring Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Kate Micucci, Aubrey Plaza, John C. Reilly, and Molly Shannon.

Set in the 14th century, The Little Hours is told in an anachronistic style with contemporary improvised dialogue. The plot jointly follows the lives of three nuns at a convent in the countryside who try to fornicate with a young gardener posing as a deaf-mute after he escapes from being punished by his lord for adultery with the man's wife. The film held its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2017, and was released on June 30, 2017, by Gunpowder & Sky. It received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for the cast's performances.

Plot
In the year 1347 in Garfagnana, Italy, a convent of nuns is led by Father Tommasso. The three nuns at the center of the story are: Alessandra, who wants to marry her suitor but is held at the convent due to her father's support of the church; Ginevra, a gossip; and Fernanda, a violent sadist. The three of them routinely harass the friendly gardener Lurco, who quits in disgust. Meanwhile, in Lunigiana, 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 merchandise in the river. Massetto helps him return home and the two arrange to have Massetto work as a gardener while pretending to be a deaf-mute, 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 of witches. 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 Marea, 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, Mother Marea and Father Tommasso have met up in secret under the pretense that Marea 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 Marea embrace and smile at each other.

Cast

 * Alison Brie as Sister Alessandra
 * Dave Franco as Massetto
 * Kate Micucci as Sister Ginevra
 * Aubrey Plaza as Sister Fernanda
 * John C. Reilly as Father Tommasso
 * Molly Shannon as Mother Marea
 * Fred Armisen as Bishop Bartolomeo
 * Jemima Kirke as Marta
 * Nick Offerman as Lord Bruno
 * Lauren Weedman as Francesca
 * Paul Reiser as Ilario
 * Adam Pally as Guard Paolo
 * Paul Weitz as Lurco
 * Jon Gabrus as Guard Gregorio

Production
In April 2016, it was announced that Jeff Baena had written and would direct a film starring Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Kate Micucci, Aubrey Plaza, John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon, Fred Armisen, Jon Gabrus, Jemima Kirke, Nick Offerman, Adam Pally, Paul Reiser, Lauren Weedman, 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 The Decameron, a collection of novellas by Giovanni Boccaccio; 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: Castiglione di Garfagnana, Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, Pieve Fosciana, and Camporgiano. The castle scene was filmed in Fosdinovo, Province of Massa Carrara.

Release
The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2017. Shortly after, Gunpowder & Sky acquired distribution rights to the film. It was released on June 30, 2017.

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, based on 128 reviews, with a weighted average 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, the film holds a rating of 69 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".