Review of The Great Beauty (2013) by Nathaniel K — 22 Jan 2014

Paolo Sorrentino's "The Great Beauty" is a remarkable film; starting in innocence, it morphs into vulgarity and lavishness, and reinvents itself constantly over the course of 2 and a half hours. It opens on a scene of pure innocence, in the Italian countryside, this is soon disrupted by a sudden death. In one piercing scream, we are brought into a club setting, with a palette of bright neons and an array of trashy guests. In the center is Jep (Toni Servillo), celebrating his 65th. He is in the center of the frame, yet is probably the most out-of-place person in the room. Over the course of the film, he wanders through Rome, running into old friends, through strip clubs, and realizing that he is living in an ageist society, that finds artistry in sorrow. "I tell my daughter, you're 42, are you going to be a stripper when you're 50?" One especially poignant scene involves a young girl, a performance artist, who is forced to perform against her will (for art's sake), and releases her anger at a canvas in a piece that would put Jackson Pollock to shame.

As I noted earlier, the film evolves, not only emotionally, but visually. The brighter, party colors change into more traditional, and natural hues, evoking the camerawork of films like "A Room With a View", which treat Italy with a dose of nostalgia and awe, which Jep Gambardello will argue, is not all that snobby. "The Great Beauty" is about finding meaning in a wasted life, and showing that one can find even the greatest beauty in old age.