{"id":7815,"date":"2013-12-06T13:52:41","date_gmt":"2013-12-06T17:52:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/evetushnet\/?p=7815"},"modified":"2013-12-06T13:52:41","modified_gmt":"2013-12-06T17:52:41","slug":"the-giraffe-trick-i-review-paolo-sorrentinos-the-great-beauty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/evetushnet\/2013\/12\/the-giraffe-trick-i-review-paolo-sorrentinos-the-great-beauty.html","title":{"rendered":"“The Giraffe Trick”: I review Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Great Beauty”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

at AmCon:<\/p>\n

In decadent Rome, an aging art critic rides the success of his one, long-ago novel, and wonders if there\u2019s more to life than having the best conga line in the Eternal City. He watches young nuns playing in a hedge maze, drifts into and through relationships with damaged women, and does a lot of eloquent smoking.<\/p>\n

The Great Beauty<\/em><\/a>, Paolo Sorrentino\u2019s update of\/homage to La Dolce Vita,<\/em> offers a lot of expected pleasures. Our antihero, Jep Gambarella (Toni Servillo), sometimes seems to be genuinely having fun, and at those points I tended to have fun right along with him. The camera swoons and swoops. The art and landscape of Rome look glorious\u2013the many different, clashing landscapes, nuns scuttling past a satyr, neon lights and ancient stones. The satire of terrible performance art probably goes on too long (I would\u2019ve cut the on-the-nose sequence with the man whose father photographed him every day of his life, and the knife thrower) but it ranges from acidic to surprisingly thought-provoking, disturbing, and nuanced.<\/p>\n

Jep is a critic in the worst way: somebody who makes his living off of art. It\u2019s a job which breeds cynicism. And Rome is famously a city of cynics.<\/p>\n

But somewhere around the three-quarters point of the movie, something unexpected occurs.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

more<\/a>\u2013highly recommended for film lovers, mackerel-snappers, existentialists, and the art-damaged. Review has spoilers for the mood of the ending; as usual, I\u2019m glad I went in knowing virtually nothing about the film, so if you\u2019re like me you should just go see it and read my review afterward.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

at AmCon: In decadent Rome, an aging art critic rides the success of his one, long-ago novel, and wonders if there\u2019s more to life than having the best conga line in the Eternal City. He watches young nuns playing in a hedge maze, drifts into and through relationships with damaged women, and does a lot […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1071,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,7],"tags":[334,131],"class_list":["post-7815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-art","category-mackerel-snapping","tag-is-this-the-decadence","tag-it-is-very-dark-you-are-likely-to-be-wrestled-by-an-angel"],"yoast_head":"\n"The Giraffe Trick": I review Paolo Sorrentino's "The Great Beauty"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"at AmCon: In decadent Rome, an aging art critic rides the success of his one, long-ago novel, and wonders if there\u2019s more to life than having the best\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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