Review of The Great Beauty (2013) by Martin P — 18 Sep 2013

Jep Gambardella (Toni Servillo) appears to have it all. A successful journalist and prize-winning author in his youth, he now lives in a penthouse apartment overlooking the Colosseum, the king of socialites in the eternal city. His 65th birthday, reminds us of Berlusconi's bunga-bunga parties as he lords it over his guests, a wide spectrum of Roman society. He literally has the keys to the city (through a night-porter friend who has access to the grandest 'palazzi' seen by the few). But even in the midst of this revelry, Jep is detached and empty inside. He is full of ennui for his life lived-to-the-full, but ultimately empty, as he was rejected by the one true -love of his life in his youth.

In Sorrentino's film Jep, shortly after his 65th birthday, goes searching for something to give his life meaning, strolling through the streets of his beloved city. As an exponent of 'bella figura' - that uniquely Italian art of always presenting one's best face to the world - Jep is peerless. Never less than immaculately dressed, he is the master of all social occasions after a lifetime of practice. Knowing everyone who matters in the city he moves effortlessly through it. We find him on first name terms with the city's glitterati - Carlo Verdone, Antonello Venditti, Fanny Ardant - as he navigates the renowned streets at night. He finds joy in the simplest gestures and sentiments of humanity, set against the moving backdrop of Rome's incomparable architecture. At times, a rambling stream-of-consciousness from a wrinkled intellectual playboy, La Grande Bellezza nevertheless manages to entrap our emotions in part due to the eclectically moving soundtrack and the sumptuous photography of Luca Bigazzi.

Inevitable comparisons will be made between La Grande Bellezza and the Rome of Fellini's La Dolce Vita and Sorrentino's film certainly merits the accolade. It manages to capture the timeless beauty of the eternal city but also it's decadence, corruption and hedonism in one unforgettable moveable feast for-the-senses, and leaves us wondering is it ever really possible to have it all?