You know that moment at a festival when the lights dim, the crowd hushes, and you're hoping for magic? Last night—August 27, 2025, to be precise—the 82nd Venice Film Festival kicked off with Paolo Sorrentino's ‘La Grazia.' And there I was, in the Sala Grande, expecting the usual Sorrentino fireworks: those sweeping visuals, the baroque swirl of beauty and decay that made ‘The Great Beauty' an Oscar darling back in 2014. Instead? A quieter punch. Stoic, almost. Toni Servillo, his muse, playing a fictional Italian president wrestling with pardons, euthanasia debates, and ghosts of a late wife. Grace is the beauty of doubt, he intones—and damn if that doesn't linger.
But here's the rub. Sorrentino's always danced on that razor edge—poetic or pretentious? Philosophical… or just solemn? In ‘La Grazia,' he leans hard into ambiguity, never handing out easy answers. It's set in the presidential palace, corridors echoing like a prison of the soul. Servillo's character, haunted, isolated, making time-sensitive calls while time itself slips away. Gorgeous in flashes, sure—those striking contrasts Sorrentino loves—but overall? Stilted. Dull, even, if I'm being brutally honest. Like the film itself is trapped in its own heavy plodding.
Coming off ‘Parthenope's timid Cannes reception last year, this feels like Sorrentino dialing it back. No wild visual poetry here; the surroundings don't breathe life into the story like in ‘The Great Beauty,' where Rome pulsed as a character. Here, it's mechanical—scenes shifting visually but repeating the same thematic beats. Emotional stagnation. Pretension tipping the scale over depth. Not bad, mind you. Just… not soaring to those heights. IndieWire called it uncharacteristically sedate, a penance after ‘Parthenope's excesses.The Film Stage echoed that, praising the lush images but lamenting narrative shortcomings. Yet Variety saw it as understated brilliance, better for the restraint. And The Guardian? They loved it—Sorrentino rediscovering his voice, heir to Antonioni. THR raved about Servillo's magnificence. Mixed, yeah? That's Venice for you—critics clashing like waves on the Lido.
Me? I'm torn. Loved the idea—exploring doubt in power, that Catholic undercurrent clashing with modern morals. Hated how it dragged, repeating ideas without evolution. Still intrigued, though. Sorrentino's strength has always been connecting characters to spaces, but here the palace imprisons rather than illuminates. It's like he's commenting on leadership in our autocratic times, but subtly. Too subtly? Gorgeous. Grating. Gorgeous again. And Servillo—god, the man acts with a poker face that hides oceans. Deadpan mastery.
Behind the scenes, it's a reunion: Sorrentino and Servillo, post-‘Il Divo' (Cannes Jury Prize 2008), ‘The Hand of God' (Venice Silver Lion 2021). Produced by The Apartment, Numero 10, PiperFilm; Mubi snagged worldwide rights. No wide release date yet, but expect festival circuits to buzz—Sundance, Berlinale, TIFF maybe—before it hits theaters.
Anyway. Where were we? Oh yeah—the film's solemn style sometimes tips into… well, you know. But that's Sorrentino: flawed, human, refusing pat resolutions. In a world of comic-book spectacles I adore—give me horror, sci-fi twists any day—this feels like a palate cleanser. A reminder that cinema can haunt quietly, like a ghost in the Quirinale.
Tomorrow—August 29, 2025—shapes up massive: Yorgos Lanthimos' ‘Bugonia' with its conspiracy vibes (hello, sci-fi leanings), Noah Baumbach's ‘Jay Kelly' starring Clooney and Sandler, and Luca Guadagnino's ‘After the Hunt.' Expect red carpets ablaze.
Sorrentino's Philosophical Pivot
‘La Grazia' strips back the flair for a meditation on doubt—effective in doses, but risks feeling like a summary of ideas rather than a lived story.
Servillo Steals the Show
Toni Servillo's restrained performance anchors everything; his subtle shifts from stoic to haunted make you lean in, even when the plot stalls.
Mixed Critical Waters
From IndieWire's ‘sedate penance' to Guardian's ‘euphoric sentimentality,' the divide mirrors the film's ambiguity—love it or leave it questioning.
Visuals That Whisper, Not Shout
Gone are the baroque excesses; here, corridors and contrasts emphasize isolation, but without the usual Sorrentino magic tying space to soul.
Festival Momentum Builds
Opening the 82nd Venice (running through September 6, 2025), it sets a contemplative tone—perfect foil for the genre-benders coming next.
What about you? Catch ‘La Grazia' if it tours your festival circuit? Or wait for streaming? Drop a thought—I'm always up for debating Sorrentino's swings. Maybe that's the grace in it all.
