A beautiful misfire from the usually brilliant Italian filmmaker.
Paolo Sorrentino’s latest movie “Parthenope” has a beautiful title character, but a cynical and self-doubting attitude. This woman captures the hearts of a bunch of people, even a rowing team and some professors find her attractive. But as time passes, she develops into cold woman, whose excuse for her attitude is that she has grown up.
Beautiful women can be passionate and expressive, but it ends up becoming demeaning in this misfire, which falls behind some of Sorrentino’s previous films like “The Great Beauty,” “Youth,” or his last entry “The Hand of God.” Its cynicism and self-indulged tone never really allows us to fully acknowledge the main heroine and the people around her. In fact, it has no depth nor direction.
The story is set between the 60s and 80s in Parthenope, a Greek settlement in Naples, Italy, which is why the young lady (Celeste Dalla Porta) bears that name, as she makes a life journey of self discovery and colorful characters.
She goes to college to study anthropology, which she can’t figure out the meaning of it. Even that amazes her professor (Silvio Orlando), who doesn’t smile because of his ill son, but eventually grows to appreciate the young woman for her moxie.
She also takes a small trip to Naples with her lover Sandrino (Dario Aita) and her brother Raimondo (Daniele Rienzo), who dies unexpectedly. Her mother blames her, and Parthenope blames Sandro. But these blaming are treated like fly swats, while there’s a much better scene when she shares her grief with her professor.
Here are some of the new faces the young lady comes across in her timeline. That small trip also allows her to have a small fling with the novelist John Cheever (Gary Oldman), who is in a depressing point in his life. In fact, he finds it dissatisfying that she has read all of his books.
The actress Flora wears a black mask because a Brazilian surgeon disfigured her face. She also has a clock that chimes unexpectedly and loudly. She and I can’t stand that.
And there’s also another actress named Greta Cool (Luisa Ranieri), who is far from cool. In fact, she has turned into a pompous jerk who belittles and insults the people of Naples. And I wouldn’t blame one of them for telling her off.
In American movies of late, “Mafia Mamma,” “Fast X,” and “My Spy: The Eternal City” have all disrespected Italy and its values, whereas “Parthenope” is gorgeously photographed by Sorrentino’s collaborator Daria D’Antonio. And yet, it’s just as crappy as it would have been if this were an American movie.
Sorrentino is a brilliant filmmaker, no doubt, but his latest entry seems to be going through the motions and doesn’t seem to have female characters worth appreciating. The title lady is beautiful but there’s no personality in her. In fact, she’s only marginally better than Greta Cool, who I wouldn’t ask a question to at an audience Q&A. I can’t even tell who I’m supposed to root for at this point in the movie.
As much as I love looking at Italy and being reminded of my trip there, I was itching for the movie to find its purpose. It never does.
In Select Theaters This Friday