Greetings again from the darkness. Suspenseful thrillers, when well done, are just about as much fun as one can have at a theatre (unless you are Pee Wee Herman). The debut film from director Giusseppe Capotondi is very well acted, and pretty well written and filmed. It has some similarities to, but is not quite at the level of one of my Top 5 movies from 2008 – Tell No One.
Filmed in Italy (with English subtitles), the film does a terrific job of sucking us right in. Guido (Filippo Timi) and Sonia (Ksenrya Rappoport) meet at a speed dating event. He is a former cop now security guard, and she is a Slovenian immigrant working as a housekeeper at a swanky Italian hotel. Love blossoms for these two until the story takes a very dark turn. That’s when all the twists and turns and misdirection begin.
Both lead actors are tremendous and I will seek out more of their work. Really not possible to talk too much about what happens (without spoilers), other than to say the characters and events aren’t always what they seem. I really enjoyed the first two acts of the movie, but felt letdown a bit by the final act. Some of the visuals are very good, but the wrap up is just a bit disappointing. Still, the first 80 minutes or so are terrific and make the film worth watching.
SEE THIS MOVIE IF: you are addicted to suspense dramas, especially those involving personality twists and elaborate plans gone wrong
SKIP THIS MOVIE IF: you are only willing to read subtitles if the payoff is life-changing
Movie Reviews from the Dark 