Little prepares Marta, a recent graduate student looking for a meaningful job in Rome, for her encounter in the Metro with Lara, a young girl with glasses that stands next to her and hands her one of those pieces of paper from an ad for a roommate. Imagine her surprise when she goes to find out the room that was being offered in Sonia's apartment. Sonia also happens to be Lara's mother. As the price is negotiated, Sonia asks for help with Lara, who is about five, but with a mind of a much older person.
Sonia is instrumental in taking Marta to the place where she works part time as a telemarketer. The company employs a large number of young women whose job is to call unsuspecting households, specially women, to offer a number of useless products. Marta's job is to convince the person whom she talks to make an appointment for an expert to visit them, who will try to sell them all kinds of home worthless improvement products, a clear profit for the company.
In the process of getting proficient in marketing, Marta keeps working on her own work, which consists in writing essays about subjects that interest her, hoping to sell them to different publications. Daniela, is in charge of the women. All the shifts start with a sort of choreography which serve as a sort of pep talk for the group. Marta soon realizes not everything is legitimate in the company. As a way to help her establish a point of contact, Marta looks the location of the home of the person she is trying to sell a service by looking it up on line. She makes an impression on an older and lonely woman, Signora Franca, whose daughter has died not too long ago. This lady keeps calling her back at odd times just to talk.
There is an interest to organize the labor by Giorgio, a union representative that wants to point out how the women are mistreated and abused. Daniela likes to pretend she is the love interest of Claudio, the president of the company, when he really has no intention of ever marrying her. In fact, one night, Daniela shows she might be a lesbian in the closet when she invites Marta to her place with the excuse of a small party, but it is only the young woman she is interested in entertaining and perhaps seducing.
Paolo Virzi gives this film a quick pace that, at times, makes the viewer dizzy, in a fun way, because the action never lets up. Supposedly, the original material was a novel by Michela Murgia, and Mr. Virzi wrote the adaptation with Francesco Bruni. First of all, the film takes a serious look at the world of telemarketing in a satirical way that works well within the story. These pesky women on the other side of the phone call one receive are well trained to sell whatever the companies they represent is peddling. The company in the film is the Italian branch of an American concern with all its catchy ways to motivate their workers.
Isabella Ragonese surprises with her take on Marta. In fact, she is one of the main reasons for watching the film. Marta has no experience in what she does, but she learns to be the best until she realizes there is something rotten at the core of the company. Sabrina Ferilli makes a wonderful Daniela, the bitchy woman that wants more production from the women under her. Micaela Ramazzotti plays Sonia with panache showing her charms with generosity, for she is a free spirit. Others in supporting roles are Valerio Mastandrea, Elio Germano and Massimo Ghini. The narration is provided by Laura Morante.
Nicola Pecorini photographs the film in its ultra modern setting with an eye to contemporary values. Paolo Virzi whose previous work we have enjoyed tremendously, shows he is a voice to be reckoned with in the Italian cinema.
Sonia is instrumental in taking Marta to the place where she works part time as a telemarketer. The company employs a large number of young women whose job is to call unsuspecting households, specially women, to offer a number of useless products. Marta's job is to convince the person whom she talks to make an appointment for an expert to visit them, who will try to sell them all kinds of home worthless improvement products, a clear profit for the company.
In the process of getting proficient in marketing, Marta keeps working on her own work, which consists in writing essays about subjects that interest her, hoping to sell them to different publications. Daniela, is in charge of the women. All the shifts start with a sort of choreography which serve as a sort of pep talk for the group. Marta soon realizes not everything is legitimate in the company. As a way to help her establish a point of contact, Marta looks the location of the home of the person she is trying to sell a service by looking it up on line. She makes an impression on an older and lonely woman, Signora Franca, whose daughter has died not too long ago. This lady keeps calling her back at odd times just to talk.
There is an interest to organize the labor by Giorgio, a union representative that wants to point out how the women are mistreated and abused. Daniela likes to pretend she is the love interest of Claudio, the president of the company, when he really has no intention of ever marrying her. In fact, one night, Daniela shows she might be a lesbian in the closet when she invites Marta to her place with the excuse of a small party, but it is only the young woman she is interested in entertaining and perhaps seducing.
Paolo Virzi gives this film a quick pace that, at times, makes the viewer dizzy, in a fun way, because the action never lets up. Supposedly, the original material was a novel by Michela Murgia, and Mr. Virzi wrote the adaptation with Francesco Bruni. First of all, the film takes a serious look at the world of telemarketing in a satirical way that works well within the story. These pesky women on the other side of the phone call one receive are well trained to sell whatever the companies they represent is peddling. The company in the film is the Italian branch of an American concern with all its catchy ways to motivate their workers.
Isabella Ragonese surprises with her take on Marta. In fact, she is one of the main reasons for watching the film. Marta has no experience in what she does, but she learns to be the best until she realizes there is something rotten at the core of the company. Sabrina Ferilli makes a wonderful Daniela, the bitchy woman that wants more production from the women under her. Micaela Ramazzotti plays Sonia with panache showing her charms with generosity, for she is a free spirit. Others in supporting roles are Valerio Mastandrea, Elio Germano and Massimo Ghini. The narration is provided by Laura Morante.
Nicola Pecorini photographs the film in its ultra modern setting with an eye to contemporary values. Paolo Virzi whose previous work we have enjoyed tremendously, shows he is a voice to be reckoned with in the Italian cinema.