competition premiere. An affectionate, theatrical portrait set in the early 20th century, it culminates in an historic court case, but the build-up is leisurely to a fault.
We first meet Scarpetta when he’s preparing to go on stage. It’s a place where he seems the happiest, if you discount the beds of various female family members. That pretty much sums up the characterization that takes over two hours to repeat. We see that Scarpetta craves the adulation and laughter of the audience, and is having affairs with both his wife’s sister and his wife’s niece.
Luisa inspires pity more than anything: she waits for Scarpetta’s visits, grabbing what time she can with him, quietly glowering when he refuses to acknowledge the children as his own in public. Meanwhile wife Rosa is pressing her husband to make a will that only includes their children. Figuring out the exact nature of all their relationships has a certain fascination, but it’s not exactly entertaining.
One of the most nuanced scenes sees Scarpetta meeting celebrated poet Gabriele D’Annunzio , who has penned a tragedy called. Faced with a public figure who is taken more seriously than himself, Scarpetta suddenly becomes more subservient, flattering D’Annunzio as he begs him to give a parody his blessing. The poet, meanwhile, is hard to impress, sneering through his mustache in his castle, while thunder crashes and an orgy awaits him upstairs — literally a horny devil.
The next most engaging scene is in the courtroom, as an effervescent Servillo booms and boasts around the de facto stage. But this scene is also welcome because it signals the end of a film with a fatally indulgent pace — and an ironic lack of wit.
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