The Consequences of Love (2004)

An introverted man's life changes completely when he finds himself attracted to a young bar-maid.

Director:

Paolo Sorrentino

Writer:

Paolo Sorrentino

Stars:

Toni Servillo, Olivia Magnani, Adriano Giannini

20 wins & 21 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Toni Servillo	...	Titta Di Girolamo
Olivia Magnani	...	Sofia
Adriano Giannini	...	Valerio
Antonio Ballerio	...	Bank manager
Gianna Paola Scaffidi	...	Giulia
Nino D'Agata	...	Mafioso
Vincenzo Vitagliano	...	Pippo D'Antò (as Enzo Vitagliano)
Diego Ribon	...	Director
Gilberto Idonea	...	Hired assassin
Giselda Volodi	...	Waitress
Giovanni Vettorazzo	...	Letizia
Gaetano Bruno	...	Hired Assassin
Ana Valeria Dini	...	Reader
Vittorio Di Prima	...	Nitto Lo Riccio
Angela Goodwin	...	Isabella

Storyline

Titta di Girolamo apparently has a regular and tedious life with nothing strange a part from his own name (as he uses to say). He lives in a Hotel in Lugano (Switzerland) since almost ten years, spending his days waiting for something we don't know. His life is too rigid, too detached following a flat routine. Titta ignore everyone and probably he has no emotions at all. Basically there is no story. But one day he decided, breaking all his personal rules, to exchange some words with Sofia, the hotel's barmaid. Incredibly all the situation change, emotions, love, mafia, death come back violently into Titta's life.

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Plot Keywords:

neo noirish | man wears eyeglasses | hotel | death | switzerland | 

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Taglines:

Everyone has a dark secret

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.

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Goofs

The barrel of the tracksuit-clad assassin's fired gun, lying on the hotel mattress while the assassin is packing for departure, appears defective, i.e., rubbery, as the silencer barrel is angled downward. Moments later, after he picks up the gun and points it at the hotel room door, the barrel appears longer and straighter, as it was in the earlier scenes.

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Quotes

Carlo: Do you know what scare me, doctor? To die of old age... I want to die in a daring way.
Titta: It needs courage to die in a daring way.

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Soundtracks

Subtle Body
Written by Steve Cobby and David McSherry
Performed by Fila Brazillia
Courtesy of Twentythree Records Ltd

User Reviews

Distinguished & deliciously cool

The opening shot is hypnotic, drawing you in. Into a world of strangeness and solemnity. A deep, Italian baritone-voiced narrator making the invite ever more enticing. Then:

A middle-aged gentleman just sits in the hotel lounge, looking intelligent and distant, distinguished but also downright arrogant and rude. He never speaks to staff, or other guests, even, despite having been in residence for ten years.

He does something, without fail every Wednesday - and a couple more things the same day, once a year.

The sort of gentleman one could chance upon in any hotel, pretty well anywhere in the world. A poker-face of nothingness, smoking his life away, his concentration on his inner world only broken by the burned out cigarette stub. The excellent acting of Toni Servillo, coupled with the sublime direction of Paolo Sorrentino, employing a Kubrick style of slo-steadicam, with an ever sense of steady dread.

Always compelling rather than propelling, the story unfolds with Servillo's character, Titta, as he leads this strictly regimented life until confronted by the stunning Sofia, the barmaid. She looks at him straight in his eye and states that she's made his bed, served him this and that, had always been polite and courteous for the three years she's worked there. And he's never had the decency to utter a single word to her.

Instead of being nice back or even saying anything at all, we're aware that a flicker of something human has sparked within him. But, as the very title states, this lowering of his guard could very well be his downfall.

What does, however inflame this film and raises it even higher are the occasional flurries of activity. Titta hardly does anything more than almost nothing (driving one block, or looking around - not buying, though - a shopping mall) is accompanied by very loud punk rock music. This is unsettling - is this a dream he's having? Does he yearn for the fast life? Are the people he meets from a past, productive life? Do the characters he encounters then have any relevance to him - and to his situation now? The scenes look very real; the mood and ambiance are definitely not.

Moving on into the realms of more conventional crime drama, but still with a cool unease and an almost Memento meditative pace, the whole reveals lives and opportunities lost. Of redemptive longing and knowing one's own fate. This is an intelligent film that refuses to retread a potentially familiar path.

If in the U.K, BBC4 shows it again, wrap yourself inside it, be enveloped by it. You'll want to watch all of it, not that you know why but you'll be glad that you did. It's only 90mins. I've seen The Consequences... four times now, and I never tire of it. The ending will have you quietly shocked and amazed, too.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Italy]

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

24 September 2004 (Italy)

Also Known As:

As Consequências do Amor

Filming Locations:

Chiasso, Cantone Ticino, Switzerland

Box Office

Budget:

EUR2,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,556,056

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fandango, Indigo Film, Medusa Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1