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Reviewed by Libby Drake, Friday 23rd September 2016
When a film features two women on the run, driving in cars, and having adventures, it's very difficult to think past Thelma and Louise, but that is where the similarity ends. When Thelma and Louise started their adventure it was an escape, the crimes came later. In Like Crazy (La pazza gioia) the 'crimes' came first, then detention, then escape. Like Crazy is part of the Lavazza Italian Film Festival 2016.
The film is initially set in Villa Biondi, a mental health facility, where we meet the manic, upper-middle class Beatrice. She has created a grand image and back-story for herself, some of which is true and some of which is not. When a young tattooed Donatella arrives Beatrice takes her under her wing. Both women have been confined by the courts. There is an hilarious scene when Donatella is being admitted and Beatrice poses as a doctor in order to find out as much as she can about Donatella, including her medications. She also discovers that, while desperate for news of her young son who has been fostered, Donatella's request for a photo of her son has been ignored by the judge.
Although the two women are nothing alike, and from different walks of life, they form a firm bond nonetheless. Neither wants to be at Villa Biondi so, when an opportunity presents itself, the pair make a break for it and catch a passing bus. They are now on the run, with their carers in hot pursuit.
The film is both funny and delightful. The sensual Beatrice is beautifully played by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi - charming, funny and brash. It is a wonderful and heart-warming performance. Her partner in escape, the very damaged Donatella, is sensitively played by Micaela Ramazzotti. As the film progresses, we discover more about what has brought these two women to Villa Biondi, and it becomes more poignant and, ultimately, extremely moving.
The institution where the two women have been confined by the courts is filled with compassionate and caring staff and a variety of other patients. We get to know a little of these characters and the various family members and acquaintances we meet along the way but the focus is always on Beatrice and Donatella, their adventures, and our learning of who they are and what led them to their confinement.
Like Crazy is shot in Tuscany and Rome. The locations are stunning, both country and towns. Starting at Villa Biondi, a beautiful old Tuscan building, Beatrice and Donatella's adventures include a shopping mall, a magnificent expensive restaurant, a casino, a nightclub, a beach, and a variety of cars. Eventually, Beatrice suggests to Donatella that they find and visit her son.
Like Crazy comes two years after director Paolo Virzi's highly acclaimed film Human Capital, which also starred Valeria Bruni Tedeschi. Interestingly, after 20 years as a director, Virzi's next film, The Leisure Seeker, will be his first in English, and stars Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland.
Cinematographer Vladan Radovic shot the whole movie with a handheld ALEXA. Up close on a very large screen this is quite "shaky" at the beginning, but soon settles down even at a close distance.
Like Crazy is screening at the Palace Nova, Adelaide, South Australia only once more, on Saturday 8th October at 4.00pm. It is highly recommended.
