by Julian Wood
Worth: $17.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Celeste Dalla Porta, Silvio Orlando, Gary Oldman
Intro:
… cinema to bathe in …
Two words always come to mind when considering the work of Italian director Paolo Sorrentino; grandeur and beauty. Expert at presenting both, his films assault the senses and leave you to quietly marvel. Of course, there is a section of the audience that is left scratching their heads when they ask themselves, “what is the film really about?” The other thing to mention about this award-winning and often prolific filmmaker (Youth, The Great Beauty, The New Pope, Loro, The Hand of God) is that it is quintessentially Italian. Or rather, he presents a version of ‘Italian-ness” that seems to us typically exaggerated but charming.
Parts of this lavish Neapolitan panorama looks like a cinema advert for martini. It is full of absolutely beautiful people (both men and women) lounging elegantly in Roman ruins or piazzas. Because it is set largely in the 1960s, this enables Sorrentino to indulge in a careful retro homage to bygone fashions and gives the film its nostalgic tinge.
But what of the story? Well, it is a tale of growing up and the eponymous female Parthenope (newcomer Celeste Dalla Porta) going from being a local girl with local ambitions to being a successful academic under the patronage of a ridiculously grumpy old professor. The chosen profession here doesn’t seem to really ring true or appear to be organically connected to her inner self but, then again, it is hard to show academic progress on screen.
What we do get a lot of is youthful Parthenope wooed by men and dazzling all in her wake. This is another element that we associate with many Sorrentino films, his connoisseur’s eye for ravishing female beauty. This is the director who made The Great Beauty of course and the trope of the muse/Goddess is never far away.
Highlighting that seems vaguely outdated and/or lecherous, but it is central to the film and Dalla Porta is in every frame and filmed lovingly from every angle. Her performance is not hugely nuanced, but it is adequate. In a sense, being that beautiful is almost a burden, as people will see that first and perhaps only that. This might even be part of what Sorrentino is saying as Parthenope is not an especially happy person. The film does have an emotional range, from glorious ease to ungraspable regret, and it has a fine musical score. However, it is the sheer perfection of the images thrown up on screen that will linger most. This is cinema to bathe in. Maybe that is the core of this kind of art. As the poet said, beauty is truth.