Rating:
* * *
Verdict:
Nuanced and adventurous Italian comedy of love and betrayal featuring two razor-sharp performances
This highly entertaining comedy, a massive hit in its native Italy, stretches the boundaries of the genre in an attempt to add some emotional texture. It's not entirely successful. The ending is a bit glib and, paradoxically, leaves a couple of rather large loose ends hanging but it juggles comedy and pathos with some elegance.
The fact that the two stars had a hand in the writing may have something to do with it. Verdone, who also directed, plays Achilles De Bellis (there is much fun to bad had exploring the symbology of the characters' names), the CEO of a flash hotel owned by the wealthy family he has married into.
When he sacks a maid on suspicion of theft, her son, Orfeo (major heart-throb Muccino), outraged at the injustice visited on his already-fragile mother, vows revenge. He exacts it, at first entertainingly and then with spectacularly unexpected consquences involving a third key character (Morariu), best not identified here.
What looks like the film's climax happens less than halfway in, but the intricate plot has a shock revelation and the film essentially delivers two stories for the price of one. The first is a farce that relies on the kind of coincidence that has always sustained comedy. The second is more romantic, with moments of genuine emotional nuance, particularly between Orfeo and his mother.
Beautiful-looking (the locations include Geneva and Istanbul) and featuring two razor-sharp performances by actors at the top of their game, it's an adventurous film which, unusually for a comedy, grapples with some serious themes. Recommended.
Peter Calder
Cast:
Carlo Verdone, Silvio Muccino, Ana Caterina Morariu
Director:
Carlo Verdone
Running time:
110 mins
Rating:
M (offensive language and sexual references)
Screening:
Rialto