Honey (2013)

Directed by: Valeria Golino
Country: Italy / France

Movie Review: Italian actress Valeria Golino (“Rain Man”, “Respiro”, “Frida, “Quiet Chaos”) directs her first feature film, “Honey”, based on the novel “A Nome Tuo” by Mauro Covacich. Jasmine Trinca stars as Irene, a young woman who uses the codename Miele (Honey) when she dedicates, body and soul, to assisted suicides. Often traveling to Mexico in order to easily obtain the right drug to apply on the multi-age terminally ill patients, Irene is seen as a gift by the despaired ones, in a task she considers respectful and necessary. One day, her conscience will be violently shaken after she meets with Carlo Grimaldi, an old Roman engineer who evinces his wish to die due to simple boredom of life. “Honey” moves in the right direction, being simultaneously humane and severe in its analysis but without always show the expected intensity to involve me deeply. It showed so much potential but left me with the sensation that could be better explored in terms of ambiance. Notwithstanding, its plot brings moral and other pertinent questions to be careful examined, and its visuals are aesthetically engaging. Trinca was very appropriate for the role of an anguished woman, trying to do the right options in life and struggling to be in peace with her conscience. Golino’s “Honey” resulted more effective when compared with other films about the same topic, such as the also Italian “The Dormant Beauty”, but lacking the emotional impact of “The Sea Inside”. Choosing to die, and in which conditions – that is the question!