Paolo Sorrentino (‘The Great Beauty’) reunites with his muse and alter-ego Tony Servillo in this beautifully presented political human drama.
Mariano (Servillo) is the widowed Italian president nearing the end of his term. He is admired for his rectitude and stately bearing and for having thwarted an extremist candidate. But he also faces moral crises over euthanasia legislation and pardoning killers while also grappling with his late wife's infidelity. ‘La Grazia’ is a stylish and enigmatic film, and like ‘The Great Beauty’ it broods on the ‘Roman-ness’ of the capital; the way in which its history is inscribed on its buildings for those who understand it. The set piece moments are tremendous (as always for Sorrentino): Mariano bursting into song at a veterans’ dinner is one to look out for. 66-year-old Servillo is an actor to savour, able to suggest fathomless depths of sadness or lenient humour with a single smile. (Subtitles)
Italy 2025 Paolo Sorrentino 131m
