Ferzan Ozpetek
Saturno contro

There are directors who never disappoint expectations; one of these can be, let's say, Scorsese: I went to see "The Departed" convinced I would witness a masterpiece, and so it was. Similarly, I didn't like Ozpetek before watching "Saturn in Opposition", and I still don't care for him now. Let's get this straight: we are not talking about a mediocre or poorly made film, and the dictates of prejudice have been deliberately suppressed. Yet what strikes the viewer most at the end of the film is the complete lack of any remnants to cling to, of a character more charismatic than the others, or a particular line. This is not to discredit the brilliant cast, who do their duty from start to finish.

The plot: Davide (Pierfrancesco Favino), an acclaimed children's book author, is in a relationship with Lorenzo (Luca Argentero), a lively albeit paranoid young man. Around them is a close-knit group of friends, consisting of Angelica (Margherita Buy) and her husband Antonio (Stefano Accorsi) (who cheats on her with the alluring Isabella Ferrari), Roberta (a surprising Ambra Angiolini), with her little drug habit, Neval (Serra Yilmaz) and her husband Roberto (Filippo Timi), Sergio (Ennio Fantastichini), Davide's ex, an idle man living off his earnings, and the young Paolo (Michelangelo Tommaso), a bisexual who recently joined the group. The tightly-knit circle of friends often gathers for dinners together until one evening, while celebrating Lorenzo, he falls ill and slips into a coma. From here, the group must face their demons, the fear of separation and disillusionment, the difficulty of pain and acceptance, until liberation.  

As previously stated, the film is not poorly made. It is simply too "glossy", with the annoying and palpable presumption of "being more than others" that shines through good yet fawning and sometimes arrogant, or even mannered direction. Ozpetek's world does not conceive different landscapes from those of bourgeois people in their forties, either brilliant at work or totally adrift, but this is a problem only to a certain extent: in this way, there is a standardized psychological analysis of the characters, despite having silent wedges in the extremism and the pseudo-marginalization of the "different," who is no longer different. The star-studded cast did not make this film take off, which fails to avoid recalling the director’s other works but fails to replicate their freshness and originality. And so, it tires. Furthermore, the impression is given that there are scenes of "crying on cue" (outside the cinema, comments like "it was beautiful, I cried throughout the film" were common) and of some veiled governmental-state criticism (which would have been of certain interest if not handled with just a couple of lines by the actors) give the film some small lapses in style that certainly do not benefit the overall judgment.

The actors are deeply absorbed in their roles: Pierfrancesco Favino is extraordinary in portraying the lover devastated by the pain of loss, while Margherita Buy is as always perfect in the role of the one who is betrayed but also has the task of not panicking to keep the nerves of the group of friends intact. Stefano Accorsi is comfortable in a role quite congenial to him and the other actors are also up to par. As mentioned above, there is a surprise in the cinematic introduction of former child prodigy Boncompagni, who finds herself wonderfully at ease in front of the camera, speaking sparingly and well, and offering silent facial expressions that give a drop of oxygen in a rather dull sea.  

In conclusion, a film that is not essential except perhaps for the director, but not for this reason deplorable or unwatchable. Simply, too pretentious and convoluted. The characters do not stay in the hearts of the viewers and, indeed, do not outlive the actors who portray them, from whom we can appreciate the typical professionalism they carry from film to film. Ozpetek confirms himself as a technically good director but absolutely needs to decide to steer his production in a new direction, as he remains stuck a few years back.