| DON'T MOVE Non ti muovere |
 2004 - Italy / Spain / UK Director: Sergio Castellitto
- Reviewed by Vickie
This movie might as well have the sub-heading The Uglification of Penélope Cruz because, more than anything, that’s what’s repeatedly drummed into the heads of the audience. But, unlike other uglified actresses before her (see: Oscar-winner Charlize Theron, Oscar-winner Halle Berry, Oscar-winner Hilary Swank), Cruz’s appearance proves more of a distraction than a seamless character trait and I’m not really convinced she’s going to get a statuette out of the deal (though she did win the Italian equivalent of a best-actress trophy, so go figure). Cruz dons ugly, fake teeth and even uglier clothes for her role as Italia, a poor and emotionally desperate hotel maid, who gets involved with the wrong man for all the wrong reasons. Based on the Italian novel by Margaret Mazzantini, the film is told largely in flashback, as a doctor named Timoteo (Sergio Castellitto, who also directs, penned the screenplay and looks like the love child of Jean Reno and John Turturro) anxiously awaits word on the fate of his teenage daughter, who was hit by a car. With all this time on his hands, Timoteo is suddenly reflecting on a long-ago, extra-marital relationship he had with Italia, and the audience is plunged into its painful ugliness and curious intimacy. The press notes for the film and Cruz’s promotional interviews all cite the storyline as being one of a damaged love affair between two broken souls and, to some extent, that rings true. But that theme might be more prevalent and better explained in the book, because its representation and execution onscreen is not entirely convincing, resulting in a somewhat different tone. For starters, Timoteo—a clearly troubled man with a gorgeous wife (Claudia Gerini) and some bizarre, borderline-sociopathic tendencies—repeatedly rapes Italia at the outset of their “courtship.” This is how they connect, literally and figuratively. Sexually abused as a child, a surprisingly nonplussed Italia pretty much takes what’s dished out to her and feels it’s an expression of love. Timoteo, too, feels drawn to Italia and repeatedly returns to see her for more sex. This is how the film progresses for a good hour. Eventually, Timoteo makes the switch from aggressor to... well, I’m not really sure. In an instant, he’s a desperate lover, trying to win back Italia’s favor. It was at this point that I folded my arms and rolled my eyes. Are Italia and Timoteo broken souls? Certainly, and they’re each involved in this quasi-relationship for their own disturbed, dysfunctional reasons. Maybe they provide a twisted comfort for one another. Maybe they each fill a void in the other’s life. Maybe it’s all just a very, very un-pretty love story where its participants are like barbed wire and sandpaper, and where the action is repeatedly interrupted or drowned out completely by an insanely loud soundtrack of power ballads (in English and Italian) of the 1980s. All definite, and even likely, possibilities. What I do know is that one of the unsettling messages it’s inadvertently sending is that it’s okay for a man to treat a woman like crap on-and-off for years because, no matter what, she’ll wind up his savior in the end. And that, despite the labor-of-love feel behind the film, left me dissatisfied. |
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