Summary
Set mostly in his Sardinian mansion, Silvio Berlusconi's personality, politic career, scandals, relationship with his wife and ambiguous heritage are presented through partially fictional events.
Set mostly in his Sardinian mansion, Silvio Berlusconi's personality, politic career, scandals, relationship with his wife and ambiguous heritage are presented through partially fictional events.
Having demonstrated a mastery of long-form drama with The Young Pope (2016), Paolo Sorrentino originally presented this fantasy on Silvio Berlusconi's political comeback in two parts. However, it has been released in truncated form in the UK and one can't help wondering how the missing 50 minutes would have fitted into the meandering and not always convincing narrative. In addition to the efforts of Silvio (Toni Servillo) to worm his way back to power, Sorrentino and co-writer Umberto Contarello focus on the crumbling of his long marriage to Veronica Lario (Elena Sofia Ricci) and the efforts of provincial contractor Sergio Morra (Riccardo Scamarcio) and his spouse to buy their way into the former prime minister's charmed circle with the help of Silvio's mistress (Kasia Smutniak). In seeking to expose the debauched venality of Italy's upper echelons, however, Sorrentino employs tactics (including discomforting amounts of female nudity and debasement) that were more permissible in the days of Federico Fellini and Pier Paolo Pasolini than in the #MeToo era. The performances are exceptional, the production values impeccable. But this version feels consistently hamstrung by its structural flaws and tonal misjudgements.
role | name |
---|---|
Silvio Berlusconi | Toni Servillo |
Veronica Lario | Elena Sofia Ricci |
Sergio Morra | Riccardo Scamarcio |
Kira | Kasia Smutniak |
Tamara | Euridice Axen |
Santino Recchia | Fabrizio Bentivoglio |
Fabrizio Sala | Roberto De Francesco |
Paolo Spagnolo | Dario Cantarelli |
Cupa Caiafa | Anna Bonaiuto |
Mariano Apicella | Giovanni Esposito |
role | name |
---|---|
Director | Paolo Sorrentino |