Fratelli D'Innocenzo
Dostoevskij

The (twin) brothers D’Innocenzo, after their intriguing debut in 2018 with La Terra dell’abbastanza that I reviewed at https://www.debaser.it/fratelli-dinnocenzo/la-terra-dellabbastanza/recensione, and after the disturbing Favolacce from 2020 that I watched and didn't like, but I watched it carelessly, and after America Latina in 2021, which was also very raw and which I also watched but it didn't convince me, today present a very ambitious work: Dostoevskij.

Dostoevskij is about to be released on SKY and it will be a TV series in six episodes of just over 40 minutes each. It was first released in theaters, however, for a limited time from July 11 to 17 and presented in two acts, each about 2.5 hours long. So, if you want, there's still time to see it on the big screen.

Today, the D’Innocenzo brothers are 36 years old, and among the various festivals I've participated in, I've often met them in person. They are two Roman guys, now adults, coming from one of the most degraded and problematic suburbs of Rome: Tor Bella Monaca. They speak in Roman dialect, sometimes mumble, curse a lot, and have a keen sense of humor that occasionally shines through in their films, which they not only direct but also write.

Their cinema is realistic, gritty, powerful, anti-conformist, addressing hot and highly dramatic topics: social discomfort, poverty, drugs, crime, mental disorders, pedophilia. I sense a certain morbidity and taste for the grotesque in their films, an obsessive quest for visual shock, a determination to go overboard at any cost.

Dostoevskij, in its long duration, abundantly dispenses all this. It's a crime thriller: there's a serial killer who kills frequently and always leaves a letter, more or less rambling, at the crime scene. There's no specific modus operandi: he shoots, strangles, or sets you on fire, moves around, has no specific target, is elusive, and the police are in the dark. There's this task force hunting him, led by Enzo Vitello (Filippo Timi). Enzo is in a lot of trouble, heavily into pills, vomits, roams aimlessly, has a drug-addicted daughter who hates him, who lives on the streets and whom he never sees...

Well, that's enough, let's talk a bit about the film. I'm puzzled, there are some very admirable elements: for instance, the direction. Meticulously executed, both in camera movements and framing choices, in stylistic decisions that surprise with variety and originality. Close-ups, extreme close-ups, wide shots, handheld camera on the actor, circular movements; references could be Aronofski, Sergio Leone, David Lynch, just to name a few, an explosive blend to be eagerly gulped down. The cinematography is gritty yet warm and rich, a pursuit of chromaticity. The sound and soundtrack, in general, also receive full marks. The technical aspect is perhaps at a unique level in the landscape of contemporary Italian cinema. Some say they copy Garrone, I wouldn't say so, they certainly resemble him (Dogman above all) but they are something else and, to me, technically they are even better, hence. Only, cinema is not just about technique; if you’re making a nearly 5-hour crime thriller, well, you need to be good with the writing and here it falls short. Slow, boring, drawn-out, it picks up in the second half but you've taken me for a ride for two hours in the first without any development in the story, without drawing me into the investigation, into the killer's psychological profile. Even this Enzo didn't appeal to me, always suffering, static, and sweaty. The absolute protagonist, but his performance didn't convince me, didn't involve me. I wasn't convinced by some lines of dialogue either, where they Americanize the texts by inserting the typical American "fucking" in Italian, but we don't speak like that in Italy, it's disorienting... bah.

In short, the D’Innocenzo brothers are brilliant at directing but poor at writing, someone should tell them. It's a real shame because for those who love cinema, they are a treat. For those who just love films, well, you'll have to settle for the series on SKY, which, diluted into six 40-minute episodes, you may actually enjoy.