Review of The Right Distance

La Giusta Distanza is slightly too long and shudders a bit about two-thirds of the way through when the tone which had been quite gentle, if realistic, suddenly becomes much darker, and it goes from being a really well acted culture clash romcom to a mystery complete with red herrings. But...don't let that put you off, it still hangs together, thanks to a great script, well-rounded minor characters, entirely credible and convincing central performances and atmospheric photography of the Po. Small town sleepiness is captured perfectly, a sleepiness and apparent wellbeing that hides terrible loneliness, unwilling conformity and a population unknowingly stuck in their ways. Everyone is trundling along doing what's expected of them until the primary school teacher takes a mad turn and her (beautiful) replacement quietly and unintentionally upsets the balance simply by being there. Everything, initially, happens quietly and slowly, and tragedy, when it strikes, is all the more shocking for that reason.