Italian director Matteo Garrone ("The Embalmer") has quickly established himself as a connoisseur of dark dramas that are almost as distressing to watch as they are interesting. However, this dark romance features an amazing performance by Michela Cescon as "Sonia' who (not unlike Christian Bale in "The Machinist") is forced to lose a great deal of body weight during the course of the film\ The symbolic implications of this story are known all-too-well by women around the world who diet, diet, diet to please the men they love. Not to mention the fact that all of the media outlets continually express the idea that 'thin is in'. But how does one know when they are too thin, and when their own self-preservation is at stake.
The problem for Sonia is that Vittorio (Vitaliano Trevisan), the man she is smitten with, has asked her to commit to a program of extreme weight loss so that she will conform to his idea of 'purity'. As a goldsmith it is his profession to burn away excess metal in order to yield gold in pure quantities. But it's his obsessiveness with all things being thin (and pure) that eventually causes him to lose his business and quite a bit of his sanity.
Supposedly this story is based on an actual incident before it was novelized and now filmed. And I have to say that if I hadn't heard it was based on a real case I'd never have believed a woman would put up with such obvious abuse, but then again, women viewers may find more in common with Sonia and that identification could yield a more welcome response to this dark drama.
If any parent thinks their female teen may be falling into the trap of thinking thin all the time along with the possibility of contracting an eating disorder then this film could be the cure for that ideation.
One final note: Sonia's body is shown with full-frontal female nudity, first as an art class model and later as she examines the effects of her weight loss. Parents should take this into consideration or view the film first and then bring the teens. Italian films are always better the second time around anyway (due to the speed subtitling).
Your mileage may vary on this one, but definitely don't go to see this one on an empty stomach or you'll be ravenous by the time you leave the theater - order a large popcorn on the way in (extra butter) - lol!
