LA GRANDE BELLEZZA directed by Paolo Sorrentino (Italy, 2013)
Just as Marcello Mastroianni became synonymous with the films of Federico Fellini, Toni Servillo is a perfect match for Paolo Sorrentino.
Following from Le Consequenze dell’amore (2004) and Il Divo (2008) this is the third movie the gifted Neapolitan director has made with this brilliant actor.
The Fellini connections are also obvious both in the richly visual style of filmmaking and, here, with the setting. Yet, although this movie is rooted in similar themes of hedonistic excess, the Rome of La Grande Bellezza is a very different one from La Dolce Vita of 1960.
Servillo plays Jep Gambardella, a 65 year-old journalist who wrote one acclaimed novel in his twenties but nothing of note since. He seems largely content to amble around the city as a wry observer of the high and low cultural scene. Continue reading
