The Consequences Of Love

Titta (Toni Sevillo) is a depressed 50-year-old, living a life of some comfort in a provincial hotel. He appears to find human communication impossible. It is hard to describe the sense of alienation that surrounds him. He has a daily routine, chain smoking, sitting in the bar and uncharacteristically gambling with a sad, but respectable, down-at-heel couple. Once a week he goes to the bank in his immaculate car to watch money being counted. It is not clear whose this is. And once a week he injects heroin.

Sofia is the girl who serves behind the bar, played by Olivia Magnani with a delicate sweetness, not unlike the Portuguese maid in Love Actually. Despite Titta's glowering presence, she seems gently amused by him. He misses nothing, but looks away if caught watching. Has he ever smiled?

This happy state of affairs is disturbed by a visit from two hoodlums. We don't know who they are, but Titta does. He is scared. He is no hero. And they are ruthless; they are killers.

Titta's extrovert, fun loving, wave surfing brother (Adrianno Giannini) pays an unwanted visit. "You are not a man, you are a boy," Titta says. It is hard to disagree, but it is the kid brother who notices the beautiful barmaid and it is he who upbraids Titta for his unkind dismissal of her. Titta takes this to heart and not before time we see that he is a human being with a sad, bad story to tell and it is here that the movie slides effortlessly into a psychological thriller of breathtaking originality.

This is the second film directed by Paolo Sorrentino. With his undoubted talent - for scriptwriting, too - and Luca Bigazzi's strong, innovative camera work, this is a team to look out for.