Cinema: Reality

Matteo Garrone's latest picture, Reality, couldn't be more different from his last directorial outing in 2008 with Gomorra. Set in Naples, his new comedy, at once charming and preposterous, is essentially an indictment of today's trend of unknowns being catapulted to fame and wealth for having done very little indeed, notably starts of reality television shows. The larger-than-life characters, who speak almost entirely in their over-expressive dialect, and their thought processes are the real source of amusement in the film while opposing emotions come from observing how this obsession with fame and money can ruin people.

Luciano (Aniello Arena) is a hard-working fishmonger with a wife and three kids. In order to make ends meet, however, he operates a food mixer rental business on the black with his colleague Michele (Nando Paone), getting the machines fraudulently from his partner Maria's (Loredana Simioli) place of work. One day at a wedding he witnesses firsthand the wealth, adoration and opportunities that come with an appearance on Grande Fratello, or Big Brother. When, therefore, he gets the opportunity to audition for a place on the show, he goes to great lengths to make sure he's taken as a contestant believing that it will signal the end of the family's financial problems.

Things, though, don't go to plan and once he feels that the chance is slipping through his fingers, Luciano goes through a series of changes which affect his family, friends and those around him. He actually does finally achieve his goal of entering the Big Brother house, but not in the way he expected and certainly not in the state of mind he envisaged either.

The performances of the whole cast are magnificent and one cannot be entirely sure that the elderly ladies who feature in the film are not veritable residents of the village in question. It's true to say though that there are parts of the film that seem to drag on and at times you do wonder where the story is going. But if you're a fan of Italian comedy and humour you won't be disappointed by Garrone's work.