email print share on Facebook share on Twitter share on LinkedIn share on reddit pin on Pinterest

VENICE 2021 Giornate degli Autori

Review: Lovely Boy

by 

- VENICE 2021: A compulsion to self-destruct and an attempt to start over are the two poles between which Francesco Lettieri’s engaging second work oscillates, set against a trap music backdrop

Review: Lovely Boy
Enrico Borello and Andrea Carpenzano in Lovely Boy

It’s within an in-action tattoo studio that Francesco Lettieri’s new feature film Lovely Boy [+see also:
trailer
interview: Francesco Lettieri
film profile
]
kicks off, a film presented out of competition in the closing slot of the 18th edition of Venice’s Giornate degli Autori. And it’s the tattoos inked onto the protagonist’s face (which start with a little piece of writing beneath his eye to eventually cover his entire face) which indicate the distinct phases in the lead character’s life over the course of the film, as does the colour of his bright red hair, which fades over time. This second work offered up by the director of Ultras [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, a 2020 film examining the radical fringes of the football fan world, immerses viewers into another world characterised by well-defined codes, namely that of trap music (where tattooed faces are a must), where we follow in the footsteps of a young and talented rising star who is sucked into a spiral of drugs and is forced to drop everything in order to save himself.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

“Rap has something to say; we don’t. We do it on purpose”. Nic - stage-name Lovely Boy (Andrea Carpenzano) – and his good friend Borneo (Enrico Borello) are making their way on the Roman trap scene, singing about drugs, money and women, propelled by their success-hungry and untiring manager (Riccardo De Filippis), who spends all his time negotiating “killer” contracts with record companies and feature appearances. Despite being headed for success, Nic seems indifferent to everything around him. The only thing that seems to pique his interest is getting high, either via cocaine, speed, hash or ecstasy. As opposed to Borneo, who is always present and on time, Nic always makes people wait – at concerts, on music video sets, in recording studios –and this starts to give rise to considerable tension.

At a certain point, the story jumps forwards in time: we see Nic in a drugs rehabilitation centre in the Dolomites, cleaning horse stables and taking part (though not speaking) in collective sessions. “Here, we place the emphasis on relationships rather than medication”, the empathic community director (Federica Rosellini) explains to them, but Nic, who’s the youngest among the patients, is reluctant; he struggles to fit in and only communicates with Daniele (Daniele Del Plavignano, who has worked in a recovery community in real life), a melancholy former addict who now helps others free themselves from dependency.

Lovely Boy is entirely based around jumps forwards and backwards in time, between the context of Rome, punctuated by concerts, parties, lines snorted in bathrooms, and professional and sentimental betrayals (Nic’s girlfriend is played by Ludovica Martino), and, on the flip side, the South Tyrolean mountains, in the midst of which nestles the recovery community with its simple life and its various rules, where the most responsible among the group go shopping for all the others and where there’s someone who speaks of how drugs quite literally, and paradoxically, saved his life.

The film often follows Nic when he’s getting high, but it doesn’t actually say much about him or explore his thoughts; here, the existential void has no need for explanation. A compulsion to self-destruct and an attempt to start over are the two poles between which this story oscillates, a story which engages the viewer (also thanks to the noteworthy set design coming courtesy of Carpenzano) and which offers a sincere and affectionate glimpse at a community of ex-drug addicts who are perpetually battling against their own inner demons and potential perilous relapses.

Lovely Boy is produced by Indigo Film and Vision Distribution, who are also taking charge of distribution. The movie will be available from 4 October on Sky Cinema, where it will enjoy its TV premiere, and will also be available to stream on NOW. International sales are entrusted to True Colours.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

(Translated from Italian)


Photogallery 10/09/2021: Giornate degli Autori 2021 - Red carpet: Lovely Boy

5 pictures available. Swipe left or right to see them all.

© 2021 Fabrizio de Gennaro for Cineuropa - fadege.it, @fadege.it

Photogallery 10/09/2021: Giornate degli Autori 2021 - Lovely Boy

14 pictures available. Swipe left or right to see them all.

© 2021 Fabrizio de Gennaro for Cineuropa - fadege.it, @fadege.it

Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.

Privacy Policy