The Price of Nonna’s Inheritance is probably one of the rare comedies that remains true to the genre. Giovanni Bognetti has delivered a funny film about how selfish families can get. The movie begins with a character named Carlo waking up in the middle of the night and hearing a gunshot. The story goes back a few weeks to when Anna meets her old lover, Nunzio Zampa, who was a big-time womanizer, in Rome after many years. He’d moved around several South American countries, and he was proud of the life he had led. Anna was not impressed with the playboy stories he shared, which just reminded her Nunzio had not changed much after all these years. Nunzio also tried to kiss her when he dropped her off at her home, but she steered away from making a mistake. So what will happen between Nunzio and Anna next? Let’s find out.
Spoilers Ahead
What did Anna and her family want?
Anna was aware her mother had received a huge amount of family money as an inheritance. Her daughter Alessandra, son Emilio, and husband Carlo were meeting her mother, Giuliana, a beautiful elderly widow who used to be an actress in her younger days. All of them were in dire need of money and were hoping the matriarch would give some to them. As Giuliana joined the family for lunch, all four of them had hoped to hear some good news about her inheritance money.
What did Giuliana introduce her family to?
Giuliana revealed at the lunch that she had found the love of her life, who was a theater director, and had planned to cast her as the lead of his play. Anna was happy for her mother, but that did not last long after finding out Giuliana’s new boyfriend was Nunzio. Anna and Carlo knew Nunzio was obviously after her mother’s inheritance money. The kids were in shock too, as they had lost all hope of getting a share of the inheritance.
What is the plan of action hatched by Anna?
Anna initially came up with the plan of killing Nunzio because that was the only way to keep the money in the family. Carlo dubbed her crazy for thinking of killing another human being just for money. Anna’s daughter, Alessandra, jumped on the plan as she believed it was the only way out. All of them eventually came to a consensus to murder Nunzio in such a manner that they would never be suspected.
Why does the family travel to Brazil?
Giuliana had also informed her family that she planned to marry Nunzio, even though Anna tried to warn her about his history of marrying two rich widows who had died mysteriously, but her mother refused to believe these stories. Giuliana and Nunzio were planning to get married in Brazil, and the whole trip and the stay were sponsored by the matriarch. As everyone was headed to the South American country and with a plan in mind to save Giuliana’s life, they decided to make Nunzio’s death seem like a suicide so that the police wouldn’t go after any suspect. Their only concern was that the mansion was isolated, had many cameras around the property, and was looked after by cook Patricia and her gardener husband Luis.
Did Alessandra and Emilio come up with a plan?
The siblings were egged on by their mother to come up with ideas for eliminating Nunzio for good. Alessandra and Emilio visited a cliffside with Nunzio when the brother was telling her sister to push him off it. The death would look like a suicide. Alessandra, who was most enthusiastic about Nunzio’s death, could not kill him. Emilio and Alessandra also had plans to find a poisonous plant that could be mixed in any drink that won’t show up in an autopsy. Unfortunately, while they were on the lookout for the poisonous plant in a forest nearby, Emilio’s skin accidentally rubbed off against it and caused a massive rash that had to be treated in the hospital, which now had their details.
How did they plan to have Nunzio’s death look like a suicide?
To make Nunzio’s death look like suicide, they had to gather evidence to prove that the man was depressed and prone to harming himself. They created evidence through CCTV cameras around the property to make it look like the man wanted to drown himself, while Alessandra and Emilio saved him. The CCTV footage plan did not work out, but that did not stop them from putting together a narrative of Nunzio as a disturbed man who was unfit to marry Giuliana. Anna was afraid he would kill her mother and get away with the money.
What did Carlo witness in the house?
Carlo found Nunzio in the living room of the mansion with another woman. Initially, he wondered if it was his wife, but he soon learned it was some other woman because Anna confirmed she was in the woods taking a walk. Nunzio getting physical with another woman proves that he was a gold digger and had no plans to be a good husband to Giuliana. This was another reason why Anna was sure she wanted him out of their family for good.
Was Nunzio killed by Anna?
Carlo and Anna decided to take it upon themselves to carry out the crime. Anna and Carlo felt vindicated that Nunzio was indeed cheating on the woman he promised to be loyal to till the end of their lives. The man could not help but indulge his promiscuity. He made it easy for Carlo and Anna to target him. Despite all the planning around the house, Nunzio was not aware of the threat to his life. Anna and Carlo planned to send her mother to a bachelorette party with her bridesmaids, which gave her and her husband enough time to give him doses of medicine that would knock Nunzio out for hours. That would be the window to get rid of him.
While at the dinner table, Anna and her family pretended to be apologetic to Nunzio for their behavior that made him feel like an outsider. This was just a ploy to make sure he began to trust them and ease up on the conversation. Carlo mixed the drug into his drink to knock him out. However, the children refused to be a part of the crime because they wanted out. The children right from the start complained about how Anna and Carlo had not raised them well, which affected their personalities. The children did not want to turn into their parents, who had no conscience.
A knocked-out Nunzio was put into a car, and the couple planned to asphyxiate him using gas from the vehicle. The vehicle turned out to be electric. Anna changed her plan to electrocuting him, which was too much for Carlo to bear. Carlo came to realize that his children were right, and the car being electric was a sign that maybe they should not be doing this. Carlo backed out because his conscience would never have allowed him to commit the crime. He was right from the start about not killing Nunzio, but he went along with it because he believed in Anna. This time, he came to his senses and asked Anna not to do this and let destiny take its course.
Carlo woke up in the middle of the fight after hearing a gunshot, which would connect this scene to the opening shot of a pool of blood. Carlo believed it was Anna who shot him. Everyone woke up to the sound including Giuliana. It was exciting to find out who might have been shot and for what reason. Luis, the Gardner, was the one who’d shot Nunzio in the leg as he found out the womanizer was making love to his wife Patricia. It was not made clear as to where Luis found Patricia and Nunzio together. Nunzio, as predicted by Anna, was not loyal to her mother. The man was immediately shifted to the hospital for treatment. This incident jolted Giuliana out of the lovesick phase she was going through. She also decided to transfer all of her money to Anna to make sure her inheritance went to the right person.
Giuliana soon realized she needed to protect herself and her family before the conman came up with any justification for his behavior. She planned to con him by making him believe she was a rich heiress so that he would spend a fortune on her in Brazil. Giuliana was indeed smarter than Anna believed, and her move proved she would do anything for her family. The movie ended with the family learning that Anna had the money, and they were after it for their endeavors, just like at the start of the film. Anna was tired of the money talk, which almost made her commit a crime. There was hope the children got their share while Anna and Carlos lived happily ever after.
