22/05/2024 - CANNES 2024: Paolo Sorrentino’s less accomplished feature film is technically impeccable but narratively weak

Celeste Dalla Porta and Stefania Sandrelli in Parthenope

Paolo Sorrentino’s new feature film, Parthenope [+see also:
trailer
film profile], which was recently presented in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, tells the story of a beautiful and enigmatic woman between the years of 1950 and 2023. Between the ages of 18 and 26 years old, the protagonist - who shares her name with the film’s title, in homage to the town of her birth - is played by Celeste Dalla Porta. The traumatic event which turns her life and that of her loved ones upside down is the suicide of her brother Raimondo (Daniele Rienzo), which took place during a brief escape to Capri with their friend Sandrino (Dario Aita).

In this sense, the film is a lengthy, intimate, female-focused tale; it’s also the least convincing feature film put forth by the Neapolitan director, since Sorrentino places full responsibility for the film on the shoulders of his young actress.

Her character is too cryptic, and we often struggle to understand her behaviour. Her arrogance and audacity (“I always want to have an answer ready”), and the many bombastic and didactic conversations she’s a part of, don’t play in her favour either, preventing a positive, empathetic bond with the audience. The result is a fairly flat performance, largely due to a lack of depth in the writing phase.

It’s also hard to gauge the narrative impact of the film’s more illustrious supporting characters, such as the “acting maestra” Flora Malva (a strange Isabella Ferrari), the Neapolitan “diva” Greta Cool who denies her roots (a coarse Luisa Ranieri), the alcohol-fuelled English writer John Cheever (an incredibly wasted Gary Oldman) and the mysterious billionaire who is somehow already aware of Parthenope’s striking beauty and who tries to seduce her by flying over Capri in a helicopter.

The most effective scenes are those featuring Parthenope and her anthropology teacher, played by a disenchanted and ironic Silvio Orlando. The mystery associated with the “real” definition of anthropology – a leitmotiv between the pair of them – becomes a discreet expedient for understanding more about Parthenope’s pain – at least in part - and, fundamentally, about the teacher’s too. The conclusion of this interesting subplot, however, is ruined by an aesthetic choice that’s over-the-top, to put it mildly.

Even the link between the bishop (Peppe Lanzetta) and Parthenope is difficult to comprehend; it’s murky and not at all credible, at least in the way it’s concocted and depicted.

Visually speaking, Sorrentino is as charming and impeccable as ever, even if, in this instance, his “mannerism” is even more visible and is an end in itself, given that it’s not supported by a solid or engaging story such as benchmark movies like Il Divo [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nicola Giuliano
interview: Paolo Sorrentino
interview: Philippe Desandre
film profile] or the recent work The Hand of God [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Paolo Sorrentino
film profile]. Daria D’Antonio’s photography is a triumph of colours, and almost every single scene boasts the intensity of a painting. The camera movements, meanwhile, capture “Sorrentinian” moments of suspense and facial landscapes with skill and great precision.

The film’s production design (curated by Carmine Guarino) and soundtrack (courtesy of Lele Marchitelli) are scrupulous and sophisticated, and the inclusion of Riccardo Cocciante’s 1975 hit, Era già tutto previsto, is well-judged and highly effective.

Overall, however, the film is held back by the common problem of multiple endings or false endings (though, to be fair, this is typical of many modern-day movies). Stefania Sandrelli, who plays Parthenope in 2023, doesn’t have the space or time necessary to lend depth to her character’s narrative arc and, ultimately, she ends up picking up the pieces.

Parthenope is an Italian-French production by The Apartment, Pathé Films, Piper Film, Numero 10, FremantleMedia and Saint Laurent Productions. Pathé International are managing international sales.

(Translated from Italian)

Photogallery 21/05/2024: Cannes 2024 - Parthenope

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Paolo Sorrentino, Stefania Sandrelli, Gary Oldman, Dario Aita, Peppe Lanzetta
© 2024 Fabrizio de Gennaro for Cineuropa - fadege.it, @fadege.it