Reality – Film Review #3
Many have often stated that what you perceive becomes your reality. Matteo Garrone’s Reality explores the depths of this ideal through the pop culture hit “Big Brother.” His movie, while slow moving at times, is the tragic story of a man who has just enough in his life (a loving wife, three children, a stable job), but throws it all away because of his desire to become famous. Luciano (Aniello Arena) is a fishmonger from Naples who becomes imprisoned by his delusions of the literal physical world around him and “his world” which becomes perceptions of the physical world. Reality is quite tragic as Garrone focuses on Luciano’s mental deterioration throughout the film through the use of slow shots and still scenes.
Reality begins and ends through zooming in and then zooming out of Naples. The beginning of Reality zooms in on an 18th century carriage being pulled by two horses. This scene adds to the “dreamlike” effect that the movie contains – the score also helps bring about this dreamlike feel through quieter, dreamy melodies. The carriage seems out of place as it travels down Italian roads filled with modern cars and buildings. Immediately, I thought of the carriage as being a figment of one’s imagination – a perception of reality which echoes throughout the film. The ending of Reality does the opposite from the beginning as the camera zooms out of Luciano and the Big Brother house, then only showing the bright lights from the house as the rest of the city remains dark. This scene represents Luciano’s reality – the only aspect of his life he has left to live for is the television show. The cinematography and variation from the beginning to the end is one of the most interesting aspects of the film.
More interesting than the cinematography is Aniello Arena’s actual story. Arena is serving a 20 years – life sentence in an Italian prison for a double murder. The Italian authorities released him from prison during the days so that he could film Reality. Arena’s story is ironic because he is imprisoned for murder, while Luciano is metaphorically imprisoned by his delusions. Garrone picked a perfect candidate for Luciano’s role because through Arena’s acting the viewer is able to see the pain and the suffering as he plays the main character.
The only complaint I have about the film is its length – I think that Garrone could have condensed the 120 minute film into 90 minutes or so. However, the style of the film requires it to be of this length because Garrone captures all of the raw emotion through slower action. The slower action, in turn, allows you to feel every ounce of sanity Luciano loses as he goes about his daily life.
Reality is quite a simple story. After the arrival of the 18th century carriage, you find out that the story begins at a wedding of a couple not part of the story. Luciano dresses in drag – clearly he is a performer by nature which is why he wants to be on the big screen. You really see the love Luciano has for his children and his family as he pleads with Enzo (Raffaele Ferrante), Italian’s newest celebrity from Big Brother, to get an autograph for his star-crazed daughter.
A few weeks after the wedding, Luciano’s family is shopping at a Naples mall and Big Brother auditions are being held there. Immediately, Luciano’s daughter sees Enzo and calls her father asking him to come to the mall to audition. After much convincing, he finally comes and makes it to the second round of interviews. The second round of interviews are held in Rome, so off the family goes to travel with him there. Luciano believes that he aced his interview and that it will be no time until they call him to tell him the good news.
The good news never comes. Luciano waits and waits, but never receives a phone call. The waiting period slowly grips him and he believes that the producers of the show are spying on him to see if he will be a good fit for the show. He gives away his family’s possessions, he sells his fishing stand, and he becomes more detached from his actual reality which is that his wife and kids are going to leave him.
Out of options, Luciano’s friend Michele (Nando Paone) takes him to the Vatican, but Luciano escapes to the Big Brother house. He enters inside the house and watches the cast and watches his dreams of fame vanish before his eyes. The ending scene is the most ambiguous as Luciano sits by the pool and laughs. Does he laugh at how foolish his dreams were or does he laugh because his delusions of fame have gripped him so tightly? We’ll never know.
Credit Block:
Cast: Aniello Arena, Loredana Simioli, Nando Paone, and Claudia Gerini
Director: Matteo Garrone
Screenwriters: Matteo Garrone, Massimo Gaudioso, Ugo Chiti, and Maurizio Braucci
Producers: Matteo Garrone and Domenico Procacci
Executive Producers: Matteo Garrone and Jean Labadie
Director of Photography: Marco Onorato
Production Designer: Paolo Bonfini
Music: Alexandre Desplat
Costume Designer: Maurizio Millenotti
Editor: Marco Spoletini
No rating, 120 minutes
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