Thursday, March 28, 2024

Movie Review (Tribeca Festival): Vanessa Kirby Shines in the Ethereal and Experimental ‘Italian Studies’


Director: Adam Leon
Writers: Adam Leon
Stars: Vanessa Kirby, Simon Brickner, Annika Wahlsten, Annabel Hoffman, Maya Hawke

Synopsis: A mysterious woman wanders the streets of Manhattan in a confused state. Finding herself inexplicably drawn to a teenager, she embarks on an adventure with him through the city and the unknown.

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In 2016, writer/director Adam Leon got international attention with Tramps, a fresh romantic film marked by crime and drama, and showcasing two promising stars, Callum Turner and Grace Van Patten. Five years later, Leon is back with his abstract effort in Italian Studies, using once again the city of New York as the canvas for his story.

In his new movie, Leon is interested in topics of identity, memory, and social acceptance, which are explored through the eyes of a mysterious woman (Vanessa Kirby) who finds herself alone and lost in a pre-pandemic and lively New York. Leon experiments with the idea of bringing to life broad ambitions with no explanations. His camera freely follows her lead, and the audience has the task of understanding on their own what is going on. Clarity is restrained in favor of atmosphere and mystery.

Kirby is the sole interest of the story as we follow her in two different timelines. The past is in the ebullient and nocturnal New York, and the present is in the busy and diurnal London. In England, she is stable and conscious, and in the United States, she is as if in a dream, trying to make sense of her surroundings, in a defensive state. She knows that she cannot remember who she is, but she does not want anyone else to know that as well.

In London, she meets a New York acquaintance that she cannot recognize. Soon things start to become frustrating. The more details she gets, the less she can remember. Is she lying or is this lack of memory real? While the audience is trying to make sense of her confusion, Leon takes us back to New York, to the very day of this conversation.

We follow Kirby as she leaves her apartment with her dog. As she enters a store and starts exploring the place, she forgets what she is doing there. Soon after, she simply leaves the store and her dog behind and starts wandering the streets of New York. Sometimes the camera sees her from across the street, others it focuses exclusively on her calm face with restless eyes. How long before she asks for help? Why doesn’t she want others to know that she is lost? Although her distress is palpable, her silence is definitive. As said before, we really do not get answers about her condition. We are frustratingly left to imagine.

After hours of being alone, she bumps into someone that seems to recognize her. Our protagonist quickly accepts the identity that this other woman confers to her. She finally has a clue about herself. She is an author of a collection of short stories called Italian Studies, and her name is Alina Reynolds. This identity sounds exciting and compelling, and Allina embraces it and goes with the motion. How is our identity defined? Is it established by our names and professions, by the way, others see us, or by our thoughts? What would have happened if Alina had been distinguished as something completely different and unappealing to her lost self? Italian Studies tries to explore this.

While the themes are compelling and the exploration of that feeling of being lost is an intriguing way to understand our instincts and basic elements of our personality, the execution in Italian Studies is challenging, creating impatience at how little we understand of what is going on. The film is more successful when talking about it, and not when watching it on screen.

Somewhere on her lost wandering, Allina starts hanging with a group of teenagers, under the pretense that she is doing research for her next book. While the testimonies that the teens – which include actors such as Maya Hawke, Simon Brickner, and Fred Hechinger – provide feel fresh, clueless, and inspiring, the link with Alina’s storyline is messy and uncertain. Again, this story is more about mood and experimentation than concrete and understandable results.

Vanessa Kirby keeps shining in roles that focus on her face and elegant appearance. The camera seems to be enchanted with her and she shines every minute of the film. She conveys fear, confusion, and frustration with a single look and the movie relies too much on her charisma and authenticity. She is vital for the somewhat success of Leon’s effort.

In addition, the technical aspects make the film compelling. The cinematography by Brett Jutkiewicz is moody and abstract. Sometimes Kirby seems to be in a dream, others in a nightmare. The music by Nicholas Britell (Oscar-nominated for Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk) is the story’s most important ally. Formed by warm whistles and tense notes, it offers moments of tension, absentmindedness, and freedom. The tentative essence of the film can be felt in its musical notes.

Italian Studies is a challenging film. While Vanessa Kirby is a compelling reason to watch it, it can inspire feelings of frustration and impatience. Leon presents intriguing themes that require a lot of commitment from the audience to get involved with them. Nevertheless, the liveliness of a now nostalgic New York, and an ethereal feeling form an intriguing project.

Grade: B

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