Anthony Lane Reviews “The Great Beauty”
The “beauty” of the title refers to many things, but, above all, to Rome. That is where Jep Gambardella (Toni Servillo), a writer known for producing a single book and attending innumerable parties, has lived for decades. Clearly, he never tires of the place; the happiest moments in this long and indulgent film, directed by Paolo Sorrentino, consist of his lounging in his apartment opposite the Colosseum, or strolling without haste through the city and savoring its deluge of impressions. (Servillo, in addition to his long, quizzical, and easily saddened face, has a wonderful walk.) The story, or what exists of it, is touched off first by the death of an old girlfriend, which summons Jep, via occasional flashbacks, into the past; and second, by the advent of a new girlfriend, Ramona (Sabrina Ferilli), whom he takes as his date to a funeral. If the antics of the beau monde disgust or exhaust you, stay away from Sorrentino’s film; look no further, on the other hand, if you wish to know whether, where, and in what guise the spirit of Fellini remains at work—and, better still, at play. In Italian.
