Luciano is a charming fishmonger whose unexpected and sudden obsession with being a contestant on a reality show leads him down a rabbit hole of skewed perceptions and paranoia.
Bustles with ideas.
Is this indictment of celebrity worship a little obvious? Perhaps.
As a satire on the seduction by media and our infatuation with celebrity, it's hardly The Truman Show, but Garrone’s Gomorrah follow-up is wry and witty. Plenty of fun.
There are interesting echoes of The Truman Show and The King of Comedy, but the movie's laboured, predictable moral is disappointing: that reality TV is a delusion compared to the real values of family, community and indeed, church. Who knew?
A handsomely crafted film but one that already feels dated.
Definitely more to this than meets the eye. Maybe a sharper film gets lost underneath this annoying cartoon family?
It's a sad story, told at too great a length, but its final image is devastating.
What Garrone’s film rather wistfully shows is that it’s better to enjoy what you have than to let it fall apart while you dream.
Matteo Garrone, director of satirical drama Reality--interview
Matteo Garrone
Edinburgh Filmhouse, Edinburgh from Friday March 22, 2013, until Thursday March 28, 2013. More info: www.filmhousecinema.com
Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow from Monday April 1, 2013, until Wednesday April 3, 2013. More info: http://www.glasgowfilm.org/theatre/
Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee from Monday April 22, 2013, until Thursday April 25, 2013. More info: www.dca.org.uk
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