Suburra (2015) Reviews

• When in Rome, Do as Romans do-Excellent Cinema

  ajit21062016-04-19

  Stefano Sollima Suburra is astounding and remarkable with a plot revolving around many lives and organized crime in Rome. Suburra was the name of a suburb of Ancient Rome. Many mafia families, politicians and gangsters covet for an ambitious project to be passed by the law which will fill their pocket with money and lives of their next generation will be in complete leisure. In order to achieve this goad everyone has to surpass the basic rule of humankind and go on a rampage of deceit and treachery. The screenplay and narration is top notch, it gives a motivation and development for each character. As the repercussion is going to affect many lives, the deeds of characters are well defined. Every actor has done a tremendous job as we see right emotions and expressions at the right place. The background score adds a great feel to the scenes and it flows with the emotions of the audience. The production value and technical area of the film is of high quality. Overall, it is a tale love, treachery, corruption and betrayal. Stefano Sollima has done a noteworthy direction putting several lives together and entangling them into each other. "Behind every fortune there is crime"-Balzac A must watch movie.

• Itialian Film Noir

  jfreeman122015-12-15

  I had this on my list on Netflix because we are headed to Rome in the spring. Thought we would see some on the Roman sights but this is NOT "3 Coins in a Fountain". It is an excellent movie...very good acting, interesting but not likable characters, fascinating story line. I would not normally recommend a movie where almost all the characters are anti- heroes. The pacing and interesting camera shots move the movie along and we really could not stop watching. My wife and I both really liked this film. It involves much of what we think of as the disreputable portions of many great cities; politicians, gangs and their rivals, organized crime and even the church. I was surprised that no major US critics reviewed the movie which is a shame. It is very good, gritty film making.

• As MUST SEE as it gets, a different kind of "crime" film

  ecam122015-11-28

  I discovered this subtitled Italian film randomly on Netflix late one night. I liked the description, and recognized Pierfrancesco Favino, actor in the Ron Howard films Angels & Demons and Rush, and thought I'd give it a shot. I was mesmerized for the next two plus hours. And in the next couple weeks, had watched the movie 4 times. I'll probably watch it again soon. This film is that good. The surface story revolves around an aging but feared and respected gangster named "Samurai" (cool name huh?) who, on behalf of the "Southern Families", schemes to use the Vatican, Roman politicians and other gangsters to turn the quiet beach town of Ostia into the "New Las Vegas" - a project that could ultimately bring in billions. Worlds collide during Samurai's quest, and no one gets out unscathed - not the priests, politicians, pimps, party planners, prostitutes, gangsters, or gunmen. Everyone involved in, even tangentially connected to, these dirty deeds gets a comeuppance of some kind. And this is where we find the substance of the film. Because this is really a story about dreams and nightmares - the dreams the characters have, that because of their not so wise choices, become nightmares they might not survive. The gangster Samurai (Claudio Amendola) is old school. A quiet but imposing man, he has an old slash scar across his throat. We can sense he's a "been there, done it all type", a man "committed to the idea", as one character puts it. And if he can make this idea of a "New Las Vegas" a reality, he'll finally be able to retire once and for all. The politician Filippo Malgradi (Favino) is another dreamer. He dreams that he can balance a double life, one as a well-respected, possibly corrupt politician and family man, the other as a man of many vices, including crack smoker and user of underage prostitutes. The latter, unsurprisingly, gets him into much trouble, and leaves him exposed to blackmail, which ultimately sets the tragedy of the story in motion. The young Ostia gangster, bald and bearded "Number 8" - so called because the number 8 he has tattooed on the back of his skull (portrayed with excellent menace and subtle insecurity by Alessandro Borghi) dreams of being respected, of stepping out from his father's shadow. His father licked the "rear ends" (politely put) of the Southern Families, and 8 wants to do no such thing. But to avoid that, he has to obtain all the property contracts for the Ostia waterfront, by any means necessary. 8 has quite the chip on his shoulder, wanting respect but not wanting to wait for it. He displays a subtle twitch whenever challenged, whether its by a superior, such as Samurai, or an inferior, such as the young gypsy gangster Dagger, who seeks to blackmail politician Malgradi. 8 is completely capable of battering someone into submission or stabbing them in the throat because of the slightest insult, but incapable of sacrificing what it takes to achieve his dreams - his ego. In this respect he might be the film's most interesting, and tragic character. Much credit to the actor Borghi - he's got a bright career ahead of him. The film's standout scene involves Number 8. At night he stands in his lavish beach front house at a foggy window, pouring rain outside. His girlfriend asleep behind him, we see him wrapped in his own world, a sparkle in his eyes, as he traces a line across the window, and describes the magnificence of what his "New Las Vegas" will be like - the key to the respectability he so desperately desires. On the opposite beach, we see the lights of this dream appear and brighten - ambient dreamlike music accompanying it. It's a simple, but stylish, almost fairy tale like scene. Soon, the lights begin to fade, as 8's dream will soon fade. Inevitably 8's next scene is a nightmare, as he's attacked in a mall where he's making a collection. The rest of the film is a nightmare for each of its characters, as plans and dreams fall apart, and the selfish, short-sighted decisions they've made, all come back to haunt them. Top points go to the cinematography, which is at times gritty and seedy, other times soft and flashy, but always fitting. Credit also to the soundtrack. The group M83 makes multiple appearances. Some might think the repeated use of this ambient-pop type music overbearing, and even I did at first, but when I thought of it in the context that this is a film about dreams and nightmares, I realized how superbly fitting the music is. Not enough can be said about the acting - half the characters I don't have time to get to, but they're all memorable, directing as well, writing too - just when you think someone might survive, you're shown just how silly you are. It's a superb film all around. To be followed by a Netflix TV series in 2017. Except we'll be seeing plenty of new faces, because as I said, dreams turn into nightmares for many characters in the film...

• Yes. YES. More, please!

  nikola-borissov2015-12-14

  Boy, was that a good film. Italian. Neo-noir. Dark. Masterfully shot. Omnipresent debauchery and depravity of all sorts have rarely looked this good on screen. What's not to love?! I have a soft spot for Italian cinema of the good kind, and that leaves me constantly hungry for more, considering the fact that except for Maestro Tornatore's magnificent opus the last few decades have been... Well, disappointing to say the least. Enter Sorrentino (I firmly believe "La grande bellezza" is one of the top 5 Italian films ever made, with "Youth" not so far behind), and now Sollima too. The only reason to give "Suburra" 9 stars instead of 10 is the microscopically imperfect acting in a few instances, but other than that the film is practically perfect. No need for a wordy review, just go see it. It grips you by the innards and doesn't let go. If you happen to be fluent in Italian and especially the Roman dialect, that adds at least 30% more enjoyment. A big, heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who worked on this fantastic film!

• 8/10

  James_De_Bello2015-10-21

  This is the first time I happen to be writing the first review for a film on IMDb and it is so fitting I am doing it for a film on which I have so many thoughts to throw out there. Finally Italian cinema has something to boast really proudly after the two slightly underwhelming years that followed the masterpiece that is "The Great Beauty", of which we will speak more later. Talking solely about cinema "Suburra" is such a great addition to the Italian canon, it takes into account everything that came before it and quotes it really respectfully, especially some of Fellini's work and even more Sorrentino's. This film's review can be summed up in one phrase in my opinion: it takes you by the throat from frame one and never lets go until the end, gripping it slightly too hard sometimes. Now let me explain this statement with all the positives and negatives it takes into account. Firstly, there is no denying how intense this film is. It is some of the darkest stuff I've seen in quite a while. People might contradict this, but to those I would respond that they don't actually understand what dark stuff is. We are not talking about murder, drugs or graphic violence, even though here there are aplenty. Truly dark stuff is what makes you feel dirty or dead inside, it is what makes you twitch, it is what makes you doubt your beliefs. Now that can often go hand in hand with violence etc., and it does here, but lets not forget why it works in the first place, which is because it goes deep into exploring human nature and behavior and what goes behind it. In the same way, even if not to the same extent, something like "Requiem for a Dream" uses the drug background to rip your soul apart, "Suburra" uses its story to explore themes that will not leave a smile on your face, even more so if you're Italian. To this I might add that I felt the movie to be slightly too heavy hitting at times. It really is pessimistic, or at least that is what I caught from it. It is engaging to be offered such an interesting and passionate point of view though such a well crafted film, but honestly sometimes it was a little too much. There isn't one single element that tries to counter what is going on and because of this the result is absolute, pitch blackness. It isn't necessarily a negative element of the film, but it is one that I noted and got uncomfortable with. It is wonderful to see a true story told this fantastically right. By that I mean that it doesn't put the emphasis on TRUE. It uses it as a background and never shoves down your throat emotional beats that feel manipulative, wrong or educational. Furthermore it tells its story perfectly, never loosing you even if you have no idea beforehand what the film is about. Stylistically the film does have many clear inspirations and for the most part they are welcome, never being over-emphasized. I think it is impossible to make an Italian film after "The Great Beauty", especially if set in Rome, and not in anyway quote it. Sollima takes a lot, really a lot, from it but handles it really well and manages to give a truly personal stamp on the movie. Especially the opening which is a directorial triumph. With amazing photography, editing and even better use of music the director, at least for the first half of the film, manages to convey so much with actual cinema, through visual medium. He adds really a lot of subtext and makes the first hour a riveting and almost scary experience, because of what is being implied. Talking about the second half of the film, it is where it kind of gets to caught up into its plot and forgets what it was doing so well earlier on which is the thematic aspect of what is going on. It becomes really one note and mechanic, leaving you slightly hungry for what you had been given earlier on, even though it partially picks back up in the conclusion. Don't get me wrong, it hits that one note really well, performances, characters, technical and story are all fine, but it just misses what it is about. Still I beg you to check this film out and support good Italian cinema, you will not be disappointed to do so and will come out with quite some thoughts to stir in your head.