A warning to all, as i review the Italian language version of the movie - which i also assume to be the long cut; Just bare with me, it will all make sense soon.
Romanzo Criminal (RC) is a made-for-TV film, almost three hours long, a "serialized" film as we like to call them. This is the faithful screen adaptation of a book by the same name, that much in the style of James Ellroy, purports to be a work of fiction, while actually telling a real story with a few mysterious holes filled in by fiction.
In the 80's the Italian capitol, Roma, was ruled by the Banda Della Magliana, a group of ruthless criminals who wiped out the old "ruling class" by using modern methods and extreme ..well, ruthlessness; Broad daylight murders, holding corporations, organized dealings, and a desire for power that ignored all consequences. The film deals with their supposed origins, ascension to power, and fall at the hands of a determined - and lucky - marshall.
Now, generally i wouldn't touch Italian film with the proverbial ten foot pole, especially a modern film and one made for TV most of all, but RC does away with most Italian modern film conventions and delivers a realistic, well paced, and altogether meaningful package. The characters are well developed(and they certainly are nothing like you will get in any other film), the acting is good (not really a great effort, since the actors were basically asked to not act, but there still is a great commitment and good final product), and the story is just fantastic.
While great in the first half, the film suffers near the end, perhaps because while the first half of the film is a smaller period of time, the second is a longer period and more compressed, and while the "setting up the organization" is where most of the action and daring is, the rest is slower and more complex sub-plots are weaved in, making the storyline a bit murky.
Now, i expect italians to watch this, but for a foreigner to catch this film, translated, it is still worth a shot; I personally can't vouch for the translation (and many films do suffer when translated, especially one as based on characters as this one is), but if you have the chance, try it, if translators made any effort at all you will be very pleasantly surprised.
7/10 (10/10 scaled with the usual Italian muck)
Romanzo Criminal (RC) is a made-for-TV film, almost three hours long, a "serialized" film as we like to call them. This is the faithful screen adaptation of a book by the same name, that much in the style of James Ellroy, purports to be a work of fiction, while actually telling a real story with a few mysterious holes filled in by fiction.
In the 80's the Italian capitol, Roma, was ruled by the Banda Della Magliana, a group of ruthless criminals who wiped out the old "ruling class" by using modern methods and extreme ..well, ruthlessness; Broad daylight murders, holding corporations, organized dealings, and a desire for power that ignored all consequences. The film deals with their supposed origins, ascension to power, and fall at the hands of a determined - and lucky - marshall.
Now, generally i wouldn't touch Italian film with the proverbial ten foot pole, especially a modern film and one made for TV most of all, but RC does away with most Italian modern film conventions and delivers a realistic, well paced, and altogether meaningful package. The characters are well developed(and they certainly are nothing like you will get in any other film), the acting is good (not really a great effort, since the actors were basically asked to not act, but there still is a great commitment and good final product), and the story is just fantastic.
While great in the first half, the film suffers near the end, perhaps because while the first half of the film is a smaller period of time, the second is a longer period and more compressed, and while the "setting up the organization" is where most of the action and daring is, the rest is slower and more complex sub-plots are weaved in, making the storyline a bit murky.
Now, i expect italians to watch this, but for a foreigner to catch this film, translated, it is still worth a shot; I personally can't vouch for the translation (and many films do suffer when translated, especially one as based on characters as this one is), but if you have the chance, try it, if translators made any effort at all you will be very pleasantly surprised.
7/10 (10/10 scaled with the usual Italian muck)