Jep Gambardella is a 65 year old writer living in Rome. On his 65th birthday, he reflects upon his life, which normally consists of rich nightclubs and expensive parties. His first love, who eloped with him at age 18, is married to one of his friends, and dies. There are numerous strands of stories involving funerals, nuns, newspapers, giraffes, but all involve Jep.
This is a wonderful film, and can easily make you fall asleep. Not in a bad way, it's just incredibly relaxing. The film tries too much to be profound, but it will have some deep effect on whoever sees it. The camera drifts around, through fountains, nightclubs, Ancient Roman monuments. The final credit sequence is one of the most picturesque I have seen.
The acting is superb, Toni Servillo performs a fantastic mid-life crises. The cast is about as Italian as they can get. The main problem is the film is way too long. At 2 hours 20 minutes, it impresses, but can also hypnotise you. You can miss incredible shots, just because your mind drifted off.
TO CONCLUDE
An excellent advertisement for Italy, The Great Beauty is beautiful and profound.
SCORE
80
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