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Aaron Sorkin, the story of an author
Aaron Sorkin, for over a decade - that is since his talent became evident to the whole world through the masterpiece The Social Network -, has been among the most renowned and extraordinary American screenwriters. Fincher's epochal film, which reconstructed and staged Mark Zuckerberg's journey from just before the founding of Facebook to the moment when the entrepreneur and former nerd became one of the richest and most influential men on the planet, showcased extremely fast-paced dialogues; brilliant, timely, and razor-sharp. They managed to capture the sense of the revolution that has shaped, for better or for worse, our era and the changes in social relationships.
After The Social Network, other excellent writing works followed, then directed by directors like Bennett Miller and Danny Boyle. Moneyball and Steve Jobs are two further examples of Sorkin's style. A style that brings depth and intelligence to every situation, to every dialogue.
After these two, Sorkin would begin to direct his own works in person. This led to Molly's Game, his directorial debut, The Trial of the Chicago 7, and now the latest: Being the Ricardos. Released in Italy directly on Prime Video at the end of December 2021, after a brief theatrical run in the USA. Necessary to ensure potential Oscar nominations. Which in this case meant three nominations, for the two leading actors Nicole Kidman (at times unrecognizable) and Javier Bardem, and supporting actor J.K. Simmons. All three exceptional, but none ultimately awarded.
McCARTHYISM, TIME PUZZLES, AND MASS TELEVISION
Being the Ricardos takes us back to a crucial era in U.S. history. The sad era of McCarthyism, where, in the post-war period and early '50s, the first mass television phenomena also began to appear. Charlie Kaufman, another famous author with a trajectory similar to Sorkin's, tackled similar themes in a different way in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, George Clooney's directorial debut. The latter set in the '60s during the Cold War and the first TV quiz shows. Sorkin, on the other hand, deals with a serial watched by sixty million viewers: as if a show were followed by the entire Italy of today, to understand the magnitude of the phenomenon that was the sitcom I Love Lucy.
Being the Ricardos, through a clever puzzle of temporal interlocks, stages, besides this period portrait, the writing and making process of a TV product. Human relationships on set, the rivalry among big production houses.
WHERE WE COME FROM: MODERN ENTERTAINMENT
Sorkin, who also uses the mockumentary technique (with related fake interviews), like Woody Allen in Zelig and Sweet and Lowdown, engages in a dialogue with the audience about the era that gave rise to ours. And about everything concerning, in general, the vast world of entertainment and the jungle of show business.
But more than anything, this is a film about America. About its audience, about the eternal and cyclical witch hunt, about that middle-class national pop culture that has ended up influencing the entire world over the past seventy years.
And in this regard, to understand the deepest and most intimate meaning of this work, one must go back to the original title: Being the Ricardos.
BEING THE RICARDOS: THE IDEAL WORLD AND THE REALITY
The Italian title, as often happens, becomes misleading and trivializing.
Being the Ricardos: "Essere i Ricardo", meaning a family. Fictional, but united, ideal. What national pop TV was (or is) selling, what the American model sells. The American way of life. What doesn’t exist in reality, though. What Lucille and Desi weren't in their daily lives. Not for lack of love, but because of the harsh dynamics of marital life. And this representation thus becomes Lucille's only way of seeing her dream realized. The dream of having a home, in the most metaphorical sense of the word. A true and present relationship with her husband.
Undoubtedly Sorkin's best work as a director to date.
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