Réalisation:
Paolo GenovesePhotographie:
Fabrizio LucciMusique:
Maurizio FilardoActeurs·trices:
Valerio Mastandrea, Marco Giallini, Alessandro Borghi, Silvio Muccino, Alba Rohrwacher, Vittoria Puccini, Sabrina Ferilli, Silvia D'Amico (plus)VOD (1)
Résumés(1)
Un homme mystérieux, assis à la même table d’un café, reçoit la visite de dix hommes et femmes qui entrent et sortent à toute heure de la journée pour le rencontrer et se confier. Il a la réputation d’exaucer le vœu de chacun en échange d’un défi à relever. Tous se précipitent à sa rencontre. Jusqu’où iront-ils pour réaliser leurs désirs ? (Bodega Films)
(plus)Critiques (4)
Paolo Genovese is a reliable name in contemporary Italian cinema, known for his original screenwriting. The Place is no exception. The premise is fantastic, with a unique and captivating twist. Genovese manages to hold the viewer's attention for over an hour and a half in a simple corner restaurant, where the main character deals out fates like the Grim Reaper before the final swing of the scythe. The story intertwines the wishes of several people, affecting each other's lives in a complex web that neatly unravels by the end. However, what makes it original also makes it somewhat unbelievable. The fantastical elements clash with the realistic setting, creating a slight dissonance. Nonetheless, with its clever concept and excellent dialogues, The Place remains one of the most intriguing films of recent years.
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Paolo Genovese knocked me out a year ago with the intelligent conversational piece Perfect Strangers and this year he's done it again and I'm absolutely blown away by the genius of a director who, once again, using just one location and a few actors, can make a film that is smart, suspenseful, twisted, brilliantly acted and shocking all at the same time. This time the film is set in a restaurant where a mysterious man sits with a book willing to grant people wishes, but every wish has a price and something mostly nefarious needs to be done. It shows nicely that human desire can cause things that one wouldn't normally do. Some of the quests are very gritty and I liked that all the people are interconnected and intertwined. The cast is the same as in Perfect Strangers, which I also take as a big advantage, and even though the quests are all talk it still has drive and energy. The final twist is again left a bit up to the viewer's imagination, not difficult to unravel. Great fun and I even worked up a sweat. I'm curious to see what he comes up with next. 90%
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The interplay of the different characters, the dialogue, and the often surprising twists are almost irresistible and make the viewer hang on and look forward to the denouement. What is missing, however, is a proper conclusion and resolution. Otherwise, I think I would have gone wild and quite possibly considered this film a treasure. When I was looking for an analysis of the ending, I came across an observation from a viewer somewhere. He felt that people leaving the theater after the movie ended felt cheated. I probably wouldn't call it that serious, but it is true that I was expecting more after such a promising start. A weaker 4 stars.
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I can't remember the last time I had such a good time with an intimate and minimalist film like this one. Paolo Genovese's style is obviously right up my alley, and although Perfect Strangers was a completely different film, the character analysis was perfect in both cases. There were certainly no goody-goodies here (thankfully). Each character fully revealed their inner asshole or at least struggled with this fact. The film lacked action scenes, but some of the dialogue made me feel very uneasy.
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