Previous reviews of this film have been fairly accurate. Director Andrea Zaccariello - whose previous features have been comedies - presents a complicated plot with a mostly predictable ending and an underwhelming payoff for the story's most mysterious device. The photography is certainly stylish and the setup intriguing, and the main players do their best with their undeniable talents, but there are major problems with this film.
The character at the centre of it all - Deputy Police Superintendent Francesco Prencipe (Ricardo Scamarcio) is accused of killing his old friend Judge Giovanni Mastropaolo (Alessio Boni) who mysteriously summons him in the early hours for a meeting. The pair have not seen each other for two years, and the judge has been investigating organized crime. Surely he has been framed! The trouble is, as his thoroughly unlikeable character quickly unfolds, we don't particularly care.
Then there is the jerkiness of of the editing, which could be forgiven to an extent if characters and timelines were clearer and the actors playing their younger counterparts bore some resemblance to each other - it was unclear to me just who was who. All this meant little light was shed.
The music was used to effect (and I will have nothing bad said about prog-rock legends Emerson, Lake & Palmer!) and the characters in themselves were interesting, while the occasional twist did keep you involved, but in the end, this film left me flat.
The character at the centre of it all - Deputy Police Superintendent Francesco Prencipe (Ricardo Scamarcio) is accused of killing his old friend Judge Giovanni Mastropaolo (Alessio Boni) who mysteriously summons him in the early hours for a meeting. The pair have not seen each other for two years, and the judge has been investigating organized crime. Surely he has been framed! The trouble is, as his thoroughly unlikeable character quickly unfolds, we don't particularly care.
Then there is the jerkiness of of the editing, which could be forgiven to an extent if characters and timelines were clearer and the actors playing their younger counterparts bore some resemblance to each other - it was unclear to me just who was who. All this meant little light was shed.
The music was used to effect (and I will have nothing bad said about prog-rock legends Emerson, Lake & Palmer!) and the characters in themselves were interesting, while the occasional twist did keep you involved, but in the end, this film left me flat.