THE DOUBLE HOUR (LA DOPPIA ORA) is a maze of a film, one of those films that seem to have a straightforward storyline until suddenly what has been happening in front of our eyes is not at all the real story. The script by Alessandro Fabbri, Ludovica Rampoldi and Stefano Sardo is smart, clever in a Hitchcockian way,and succeeds in keeping us on the periphery of a fascinating tale. This is Giuseppe Capotondi's first film as a director and it gives notice of a new talent on the horizon.
The setting is Turin. Sonia (gifted and stunningly beautiful Russian actress Kseniya Rappoport) works as a chambermaid in an elegant hotel and in the opening scene she witnesses the suicide of the woman whose room she is cleaning. Apparently distraught by the incident she seeks refuge in a speed dating club run by the mysterious Marisa (Lucia Poli) who watches carefully as Sonia encounters the club's most frequent attendee, former cop Guido (Filippo Timi). Both Sonia and Guido are cautious about involvement but eventually they leave Turin for a country weekend getaway. Guido is serving as a security guard for a wealthy Italian, but the house is empty and Guido turns off the security system. While the two are having an amorous tryst the house is invaded by thieves who steal everything and shoot Guido, grazing Sonia with a bullet. Events occur that are not as they seem and Sonia's strange past is relived before our eyes - or is what we are seeing the effects of Sonia being in a coma after the shooting? To say more would be to deprive the viewer of the very strange twists and turns this story takes until the final few minutes of the film when the audience realizes they have been part of the charade.
Kseniya Rappoport won the Best Actress award in the 2009 Venice Film Festival for the complex and multifaceted performance she offers in this film. The supporting cast is excellent with Filippo Timi being particularly talented in holding together an impossible to believe character study. The musical score by Pasquale Catalano and the cinematography by Tat Radcliffe add immeasurably to the film. For those who appreciate challenging plots and superb writing this film will surely satisfy.
Grady Harp
The setting is Turin. Sonia (gifted and stunningly beautiful Russian actress Kseniya Rappoport) works as a chambermaid in an elegant hotel and in the opening scene she witnesses the suicide of the woman whose room she is cleaning. Apparently distraught by the incident she seeks refuge in a speed dating club run by the mysterious Marisa (Lucia Poli) who watches carefully as Sonia encounters the club's most frequent attendee, former cop Guido (Filippo Timi). Both Sonia and Guido are cautious about involvement but eventually they leave Turin for a country weekend getaway. Guido is serving as a security guard for a wealthy Italian, but the house is empty and Guido turns off the security system. While the two are having an amorous tryst the house is invaded by thieves who steal everything and shoot Guido, grazing Sonia with a bullet. Events occur that are not as they seem and Sonia's strange past is relived before our eyes - or is what we are seeing the effects of Sonia being in a coma after the shooting? To say more would be to deprive the viewer of the very strange twists and turns this story takes until the final few minutes of the film when the audience realizes they have been part of the charade.
Kseniya Rappoport won the Best Actress award in the 2009 Venice Film Festival for the complex and multifaceted performance she offers in this film. The supporting cast is excellent with Filippo Timi being particularly talented in holding together an impossible to believe character study. The musical score by Pasquale Catalano and the cinematography by Tat Radcliffe add immeasurably to the film. For those who appreciate challenging plots and superb writing this film will surely satisfy.
Grady Harp