Paolo Sorrentino has rediscovered his voice, his wan humour and his flair for the surreal and sensational set piece in this wintry, elegant movie. It is a dry comedy of grief and regret that returns him to the various mysterious tableaux of political power seen in Il Divo and The Great Beauty.
The film stars Toni Servillo as Mariano, the president of Italy nearing the end of his term. He is a widower and former judge, admired for his rectitude but haunted by a suspicion that his late wife was unfaithful 40 years ago. His only pleasures are listening to rap music and smoking forbidden cigarettes given by his bodyguard.
Mariano must decide on a euthanasia bill and pardons for two killers, while grappling with his own mortality and the possibility that he will never know the truth about his wife. The film features distinctive electro-pop on the soundtrack and set pieces such as a veterans' dinner where he bursts into song.
La Grazia is a stylish, ruminative film that broods on the Romanness of the capital. It may not add up to as much as the director thinks, but it intrigues and exhilarates, showing Sorrentino as Italian cinema’s heir to Antonioni.
