A smash hit at the Italian box office in 2023, writer/director Andrea Di Stefano stylish new crime thriller stars the always-excellent Pierfrancesco Favino ('The Traitor', 'Nostalgia') as an honourable Milanese police lieutenant whose spotless record comes undone over the course of a fateful night.
Milan, present-day. After 35-years of service, well-liked policeman Franco Amore (Favino) is retiring from the force, having never even fired his gun. But on his final night, as his younger and far more worldly second wife Viviana (Linda Caridi, The Ties) is preparing a surprise celebration for him, Franco’s world is turned upside down. His best friend and colleague, Dino (Francesco Di Leva, Nostalgia), has been found dead on a highway in the city centre, one of several casualties after an apparent shootout. As he arrives to investigate the perplexing crime scene, it quickly becomes apparent that Franco knows more than he is letting on, and, having crossed a line, may now be in over his head…
Driven by a breathtaking central set piece, Di Stefano’s twisty, suspenseful thriller of principles, trust and family ties spectacularly mixes the fatalism of classic film noir with emotional heft, especially elevated by the dynamite pairing of Favino and Caridi who provide the film with its beating heart. Superbly crafted - with sleek nocturnal cinematography by Guido Michelotti and a smoky, propulsive score – it’s smart, compulsive big screen entertainment.
SPECIAL GALA SELECTION – 2023 BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL
OPENING NIGHT SELECTION – 2023 ST. ALi ITALIAN FILM FESTIVAL
NOMINEE (x5) – 2023 NASTRO D’ARGENTO AWARDS – incl. Best Actor, Actress & Director
"Tense yet also rather moving, it’s been a while since we’ve seen such a stylish Italian crime thriller."
- SCREEN INTERNATIONAL
"I was gripped! Such a tight screenplay and the acting is superb. One of those films where things escalate and escalate and escalate, and the pressure piles on. Really entertaining."
- ABC LOCAL RADIO
"Enjoyable and satisfying. A stylish crime thriller, with every frame super-saturated and looking absolutely gorgeous."
- THE WEST AUSTRALIAN
"Spectacular. Conveys the right amount of suspense and subterranean tension. Favino's talents are well known, but of special note here is Linda Caridi, who gracefully brings to life a very complex and multifaceted female character, who at first seems to act as her husband's sidekick, and instead holds the reins of everything."
- CINEUROPA
"A very compelling, beautiful noir. Here’s a hero for our times, one who doesn’t deny fear or his own fragility, but instead draws strength from it."
- CULTURA E CULTURE
Monday 30th October
124 min
M
Linda Caridi, Pierfrancesco Favino, Francesco Di Leva, Antonio Gerardi, Carla Gallo, Martin Francisco Montero Baez, Katia Mironova
Andrea Di Stefano, Mauro Negri, Fabrizio Rocchi
Thriller
Italian, with English subtitles
Pentridge Cinema, Palace Balwyn, Palace Cinema Como, Palace Brighton Bay, The Kino, Palace Westgarth, Palace Norton Street, Palace Central, Palace Verona, Palace Byron Bay, Palace James St, Palace Barracks, Palace Electric Cinema, Palace Raine Square
