I Love Italian Everything

We are SO LUCKY today; author Gregory Earls has agreed to write a review for us, and it’s a film that I have lying around somewhere here but just haven’t gotten the chance to watch yet, Paolo Genovese’s Tutta Colpa di Freud starring Marco Giallini.

Gregory Earls works at 20th Century Fox as a Post Production Coordinator. He’s a proud graduate of Norfolk State University and the American Film Institute, where he studied cinematography. Steadfastly butchering the Italian language since 2002, he hopes to someday master the language just enough to inform his in-laws how much he loves their daughter, Stefania, who was born and raised in Milan, Italy.

Earls first fiction novel, “Empire of Light,” about a film student’s first trip to Italy to track down the work of the infamous artist, Caravaggio, is available at Amazon.com.I’ve just downloaded it to my kindle;  it looks fascinating.

http://gregoryearls.com/#empire-of-light-novel

Tutta Colpa di Freud” (2013)
“Blame Freud” – English Title

 

I love a Paolo Genovese’s comedy much in the same way I love a summer pop song. The artists may have set a low bar, but when they crush it, they manufacture an infectious track that you won’t get out of your head until Labor Day. Sure, you could critically tear the song apart, but you’d be better off just yanking the stick out of your butt and dancing.

Also like a good pop song, Genovese’s newest film, Tutta Cola Di Freud, is not as superficial as it seems, subtly hitting social bullet points (sexuality, faithfulness, tolerance and forgiveness) all expertly wrapped in nice eye candy. Fabrizio Lucci’s fluid cinematography is inviting, and paints Rome and NYC in warm vivid tones. The breezy story is also accompanied by a nice soundtrack, which is peppered with covers of English tunes, re-crafted to fit the character of the film.

Freud, employs a charismatic ensemble cast, so likable that you’ll even warm up to the characters who are up to no damn good. The film revolves around a 50 year-old therapist named Francesco (Marco Giallini) and his three adult daughters, whom he raised as a single dad. There are no rebellious brats in this household, each of his daughters embracing and seeking out their dad’s councel at every turn of their lives, and rightly so.

Francesco is a great parent, so enlightened that when his eldest daughter, Sara (Anna Goglietta) decides to give up her lesbian life style and become a heterosexual (after a traumatic break-up), Francesco is livid! A lessor parent would have celebrated the news, but Francesco’s priority is happiness and a sound mind, for family and his patients. However Francesco is not without his flaws, exemplified by his inability to talk to a stranger, played by Claudia Gerini, who he’s had a crush on for years. And who could blame him? Claudia is a cougar. It’s a crush that will put his morals to the test.

However the drama doesn’t end there. His second oldest daughter, Marta (Vittoria Puccini) falls in love with a deaf, mute, book thief. His youngest, 18 year-old, Emma, (Laura Adriani) is in a relationship with a charming 50 year-old named Alessandro (Allessandro Gassman). The scene where Francesco and Alessandro meet for the first time is worth the price of admission alone, but stick around for a couple of fun twists in the second and third acts. There’s some clever storytelling in this flick.

My only misgiving about the film is the idea of Sara attempting to switch from gay to heterosexual, as if flipping a switch. It’s a bit extreme and unrealistic. I have no doubt that Genovese and writer Leonardo Pieraccioni are not making social commentary, but this is merely the quirkiness of this specific character.

So with that in mind, I’ll shut up, yank the stick out and just dance in the aisle.

Director: Paolo Genovese
Wrritten by: Paolo Genovese
Cinematography: Fabrizio Lucci
Language: Italia and Englisn
Country: Italia, 2013
Running Time: 2 hours
Cast: Marco Giallini, Anna Foglietta, Vittoria Puccini, Laura Adriani, Alessandro Gassman, Vinicio Marchioni, Claudia Gerini, Antonio Manzini