Penélope Cruz is in glamorous ’70s matriarch mode in this patchy Italian family saga which tries to deal with themes it doesn’t fully understand.
It’s been a hot minute since there’s been any UK sightings of films by the talented Italian director Emanuele Crialese. Certainly the last memorable one was way back in 2006 with his moving immigrant saga, Golden Door, which showcased a filmmaker who was able to mix a satisfying cocktail of romantic sentimentality and flinty realism. With his new film L’Immensità, which premiered at the 2022 Venice Film Festival to polite fanfare, he seems to be once again trying to pour that same cocktail, but this time, unfortunately, the measures are all off.
It’s 1970, which is a great excuse to have Penélope Cruz got a little hog wild in the costume department – and on the level of superficial sartorial pleasures, the film does not disappoint. She plays Clara, harried mother-of-three who is forced by her taciturn husband Felice (Vincenzo Amato) to accept her role as the stay-at-home matriarch, tend to the kids and make sure their plush Roman apartment is kept neat and tidy for her arrival back from the office.
It’s something of an open secret that Felice is canoodling with his secretary, and so Clara begins to subtly shift towards the children in terms of allyship and affection. Of the younglings, there’s quintessential tiny terror Gino (Patrizio Francioni), cute toddler Diana (Maria Chiara Goretti) and there’s also the gender-questioning Adriana/Andrea/Adri (Luana Giuliani) who refuses to wear the frilly dresses expected of them, and instead sports shirts, jeans, tracksuits and a short-cropped side-parting.
Though Clara is sympathetic towards Adri’s burgeoning sense of liberation and understanding, she knows that, as a mother, it’s her job to protect her child from the brickbats of social conservatism and the expectations of conformist family members who view Adri as little more than a rebel. Moments of blissful private escape are depicted via various retro musical interludes that are nimbly realised by Crialese.
It’s a very well meaning film, yet its exploration of gender dysphoria is very surface-level in comparison to reams of other, superior films on the subject. It feels as if Crialese wants to explore this subject matter without potentially alienating an audience who may disagree with the stance it takes, so everything political is soft edged, and Adri’s dilemma is nudged to the background in the film’s final act.
In many ways it’s an infuriating film that wastes a lot of good talent and good intentions. After an intriguing set-up, the film spins its wheels and opts for repeating scenes and motifs to both fill out the runtime and avoid putting its political money where its mouth is. Cruz is typically commanding in the lead, switching between brassy confidence and fragile melancholy, and her chemistry with Giuliani certainly helps things along. Yet, in all, L’Immensità is a bit of a half-hearted mess that reaches for originality but is nowhere near grabbing it.
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Published 9 Aug 2023
Penélope Cruz is on a hot streak at the moment, and director Crialese has made strong films in the past.
An infuriating hash of sentimentality and soap-opera-ish family saga that takes its subject matter too lightly.
Would like to see more from Crialese, but maybe with a subject he feels more comfortable dealing with.
Little White Lies was established in 2005 as a bi-monthly print magazine committed to championing great movies and the talented people who make them. Combining cutting-edge design, illustration and journalism, we’ve been described as being “at the vanguard of the independent publishing movement.” Our reviews feature a unique tripartite ranking system that captures the different aspects of the movie-going experience. We believe in Truth & Movies.
