Review of The Great Beauty (2013) by Reece L — 11 Nov 2015

Less derivative of Felini's La Dolce Vita than a deliberate homage to it, The Great Beauty similarly focuses on the existential problems associated with the wealthy in addition to offering several insights into the nature of modern Italian culture as opposed to its previous incarnations.

Yes, this is largely a retread, but to write this off as superficial nonsense would, in fact, be superficial nonsense; there are moments of honesty here to supplement the gorgeous visuals, and for every simplistic indictment of plastic surgery or mildly misogynistic portrayal of a woman there's a wonderful scene involving nostalgia or a brilliant take-down of pretentious pseudo-intellectuals (this is ironic, however, given the film's pretty portentous structure).

Sorrentino really swings for the fences here, and while he didn't end up with the masterpiece he wanted, it's still a largely compelling, fitfully brilliant piece of work.