It's a classic story, all but ageless - a tale that surely could have played out countless times in real life. It's also rather simple overall, so 'The Italian' is certainly an instance in which the feature lives or dies on details and presentation. Though perhaps not wholly riveting, it's solidly entertaining, with turns of light comedy and drama of varying severity to keep us invested. Scenes as written are modestly compelling, and all do well to ably realize them with vivid imagery. Director Reginald Barker captures some fine shots, and I appreciate the care put into aspects like filming locations, set design and decoration, hair, makeup, and costume design. Above all, the cast is swell, capably defying the limits of the silent era with strong facial expressions and exaggerated body language. Star George Beban, above all, is great as protagonist Beppo, a hopeless romantic struggling through the trials of a pitiless and at times corrupt city. Beban offers wonderful nuance and physicality, depicting every shifting emotion of the beleaguered immigrant. And his co-stars are equally up to the task, including not least of all Clara Williams as Beppo's wife Annette.
The movie perhaps feels marginally disjointed on account of its structure - an unusual abundance of intertitles, and multiple jumps in time somewhat uncharacteristic of the era. On a more esoteric level, I just don't think 'The Italian' is perfectly successful in telling its story - it's not wholly engaging. While the plot takes a direction I wouldn't have anticipated, the final minutes left me a bit wanting, as there's no particular resolution to the story. In fairness, there's nothing wrong with that: life is messy, fictional lives can be messy, and the somewhat open-ended nature of the conclusion is a tack I generally rather appreciate in cinema - and one that I think is uncommon in the silent era. Still, in this instance, with this specific tale, I'm unsure that the uncertainty looming over the ending serves its best interests.
I've seen many silent films that I think hold up as essential cinematic experiences, and fewer that didn't quite capture my imagination. In my opinion 'The Italian' lands somewhere in the upper middle between those two ends of the spectrum. What flaws I perceive here are purely subjective, true, and mostly come down to being not fully satisfying as a viewer. Still, it's broadly well made and written, with able performances as an anchor. I wouldn't necessarily say this is a movie to go out of your way to see, but it's suitably enjoyable, and well worth your time if you have the opportunity to watch it.
The movie perhaps feels marginally disjointed on account of its structure - an unusual abundance of intertitles, and multiple jumps in time somewhat uncharacteristic of the era. On a more esoteric level, I just don't think 'The Italian' is perfectly successful in telling its story - it's not wholly engaging. While the plot takes a direction I wouldn't have anticipated, the final minutes left me a bit wanting, as there's no particular resolution to the story. In fairness, there's nothing wrong with that: life is messy, fictional lives can be messy, and the somewhat open-ended nature of the conclusion is a tack I generally rather appreciate in cinema - and one that I think is uncommon in the silent era. Still, in this instance, with this specific tale, I'm unsure that the uncertainty looming over the ending serves its best interests.
I've seen many silent films that I think hold up as essential cinematic experiences, and fewer that didn't quite capture my imagination. In my opinion 'The Italian' lands somewhere in the upper middle between those two ends of the spectrum. What flaws I perceive here are purely subjective, true, and mostly come down to being not fully satisfying as a viewer. Still, it's broadly well made and written, with able performances as an anchor. I wouldn't necessarily say this is a movie to go out of your way to see, but it's suitably enjoyable, and well worth your time if you have the opportunity to watch it.