Marco Bellocchio's indictment of the press as an opinion-making machine that turns the public into sheep is a bit in-your-face, but it's also a well thought out and well put together thriller. In Milan, when a young girl is found murdered, a highly regarded newspaper blames a trouble-making radical and whips the public and the police into a frenzy. The paper's editor-in-chief (Gian Maria Volonté) assigns idealistic cub reporter Fabio Garriba to cover the story. Garriba soon realizes that he too is being manipulated by Volonté. It's a brutal and frank movie that makes it clear that the established press is the enemy, fabricating stories, printing half truths and innuendo over facts. Volonté, well-known for his left-wing leanings in real life, is great in a role that has him representing the establishment as both impeccable and oily at the same time. He dons three piece suits, dines with the bourgeois and comes across as a pillar of respectability when in fact he is a lying bastard. Laura Betti gives a brilliant performance as a pathetic would-be radical cut down to size by Volonté. The music is by Nicola Piovani and Ennio Morricone.
Review of Slap the Monster on Page One
