Paolo Sorrentino directs Toni Servillo, Carlo Verdone and Sabrina Ferilli in this Italian arthouse drama where an ageing member of Rome’s jet set begins to question his values.

Is there a better actor who has never once bothered with Hollywood than Toni Servillo? This could be a spiritual sequel to La Dolce Vita catching up with a figure similar to Marcello Mastroianni’s vain journalist 40 years later. His lifestyle is corrupt, grotesque and flamboyant. A preserved mockery of pleasure and decadence. And he begins to explore alternatives, taking small steps away from his bitchy yet powerful clique, steps that might damage his public image. The movie overstays its welcome ever so slightly but nobody does a jarring party sequence like Sorrentino – and this has bundles. Skewers Italian high society with flair.

7

Perfect Double Bill: La Dolce Vita (1960)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/