| A Little Late, Perhaps, but Passable |
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| written by talltale |
August 19, 2006 - 7:43 AM PDT |
Sometimes Italian movies successful in their home country seem to have discovered subject matter five to ten years after moviemakers here in the U.S. have nearly exhausted the material. "Ignorant Fairies" (called "His Secret Life" on these shores), about a woman who discovers her husband's gay identity, is a case in point. Now comes DON'T TELL ("The Beast in the Heart") as another example. The hidden subject here is not closeted homosexuality, and though it becomes obvious early on, the movie may still hold your interest throughout.
This is due to the manner in which the heroine begins to learn and then comes to terms with the information she has clearly been repressing--and the reactions of other family members to the situation. The subsidiary characters and their work locale are interesting and fun, the photography (Fabio Cianchetti) is lovely, but the (co)writing and direction (by Cristina Comencini, from her novel) are barely adequate. It's the acting, more than anything else, that buoys the film: Giovanna Mezzogiorno ("Facing Windows") Alessio Boni and Luigi Lo Cascio (the brothers in "The Best of Youth") and Stefania Rocca ("Casomai" and Argento's "The Card Player") and Angela Finnochiaro contribute much in making "Don't Tell" worth a watch. |
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