The Great Beauty (2013)

Directed by: Paolo Sorrentino
Country: Italy

Movie Review: “The Great Beauty” is a sharp, well-observed, critical portrait of contemporary Rome, created through the life of Jep Gambardella (Toni Servillo), a 65-year-old writer who doesn’t write for 40 years when his unique novel attained fame. Since that time, his life consists of interviewing some personalities, night parties, sporadic and inconsequent romances, lively chats with his literary group of friends, and lots of gossip regarding roman society. Jep confesses when he came to Rome with the age of 26 he wanted to be the king of highlife, but lately, he is feeling old and a bit tired of the city, an emptiness that starts to get worse when he observes attentively all his friends and sees old acquaintances dying. Very artistic, both in form and content, “The Great Beauty” is a Fellini-esque satire of a man and the city he lives. And believe me, there is a lot to look at here; so many meaningful scenes and important details projected this film into the limelight. The constant visual changings made by shadows and lights, reinforced the fun and sadness of Jep’s world, with all its pleasures and bohemia. Toni Servillo, who often marks presence in Sorrentino’s films (“The Consequences Of Love”, “Il Divo”), was fantastic in this role, playing with absolute commitment the man who enjoyed life looking for the great beauty to move forward. Sophisticated and elegantly presented, “The Great Beauty” is a true gem that restates Paolo Sorrentino as the most solid representative of modern Italian cinema.