When positing that a sea of ambiguity and uncertainty surrounds your lead, stranding him within grey-drenched imagery gets the point across. Whether jogging through the streets of Naples or discussing the fate of his clients in nondescript meeting rooms, that’s where Demetrio Perez (Luca Zingaretti, TV’s Inspector Montalbano) can be found as he navigates terrain otherwise unknown to him: reconciling his place in the criminal justice system with his daughter Tea’s (Simona Tabasco, Fuoriclasse) romance with Francesco Corvino (Marco D’Amore, Love Is All You Need), the son of a Mafioso.
A preferred palette of muted shades is one of the most immediately apparent methods sophomore feature writer/director Edoardo De Angelis (Mozzarella Stories) chooses to convey Perez’s predicament in the film that bears the latter’s name, though that’s not the only stylistic tool in his filmmaking arsenal. From the moment cinematographer Ferran Paredes’ (Index Zero) camera roves over a dimly lit morning cityscape, accompanied by the sounds of a saxophone-heavy score, the helmer’s neo-noir leanings are apparent. The plainspoken explanatory narration, detailing the central figure’s thoughts about his troubles, continues in the same vein, as do the many voyeuristic viewpoints favoured in the visuals.
As a character, Perez’s quandaries are many, encompassing his latest charge in the form of the unscrupulous Luca Buglione (Massimiliano Gallo, Neve), as well as his wish to protect Tea from the chaos her romantic choices have wrought. As a film, Perez’s murkiness is similarly plentiful. The movie may keep to a clear course in terms of aesthetics, but it otherwise oscillates between comedic and dramatic interludes, story-propelling dialogue and strong, silent glances, plus adherence to genre expectations regarding tortured antiheroes and glimmers of a more fleshed-out protagonist.
Accordingly, Perez passes the time meandering through a maze of underworld dealings that inspire both personal and professional repercussions, with the stakes high, on-screen, in a narrative sense, but low, off-screen, in emotional impact. And while the weariness that seeps through a script also written by Filippo Gravino (A Quiet Life) can be seen to speak to the state of those trapped within a system relentless in its trickery and treachery, whichever side of the law and order divide they initially aim to stand on, it just as readily speaks to the film’s willingness to tread a well-worn path instead of seeking something new in its tale.
The enlivening factor is Zingaretti, as much as the material often leaves him scowling or looking unfazed, though both expressions are ones the actor has mastered. While only Giampaolo Fabrizio (Mozzarella Stories) as Perez’s best friend and fellow court-appointed counsellor Ignazio Merolla stands out among the rest of the cast, Zingaretti is placed in the film’s prime position not only on account of his prominent role, but due to his ability to ooze both confidence and vulnerability beneath a stoic exterior. The surrounding movie also aspires to such a feat, though it lacks the success of its star. Perhaps that’s the price of playing in grey areas: even when a definitive outcome is sought, sometimes staying in the middle can’t be avoided.
Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5
Perez
Director: Edoardo De Angelis
Italy, 2014, 94 mins
Lavazza Italian Film Festival
http://www.italianfilmfestival.com.au/
Sydney: 15 September – 11 October
Melbourne: 16 September – 11 October
Adelaide: 17 September – 7 October
Byron Bay: 18 – 27 September
Canberra: 22 September – 11 October
Perth: 24 September – 14 October
Brisbane: 1 – 18 October
Hobart: 15 – 21 October
Actors:
Director:
Format:
Country:
Release:
