Disclaimer; I received this movie for free in exchange for my review and my honest opinion, I have not been compensated in any way,
L’Innocente is a classic movie and it is one of my favorites, it has drama and romance, two of my must haves for a movie. I really enjoyed this movie and I highly recommend it for your romance fans.
Gabrielle d’Annunzio’s passionate novel is brought to life in the final masterpiece from acclaimed director Luchino Visconti. In late-nineteenth century Italy, Tullio (Giancarlo Giannini), an insatiable aristocrat, grows bored with his timid wife Giuliana (Laura Antonelli) and neglects her for his more exciting mistress, the wealthy widow Countess Teresa Raffo (Jennifer O’Neill). After learning that Giuliana is having a torrid affair of her own, he becomes tormented by her infidelity and descends into madness.
Visconti directed L’INNOCENTE from a wheelchair, following two strokes and a broken leg. He remained as painstaking as ever, spending hours getting Antonelli’s veil just so, and getting a bitingly effective performance from Jennifer O’Neill (Summer of ’42) as the cast-off mistress. The screenplay was written by Visconti, Enrico Medioli and the legendary Suso Cecchi d’Amico, and masterfully edited by Ruggero Mastroianni, brother of Marcello, longtime Visconti collaborator (including Le Notti Bianche, Death in Venice, Ludwig, Conversation Piece), and Fellini’s editor of over twenty years.
[L’innocente is] among the most beautiful and severely disciplined films [Visconti] has ever made. “The Innocent” is also one of Visconti’s most terse, most dramatically economical films. The lavish, colorful depictions of stately villas with their sumptuous furnishings and immortal art work and the characters’ exquisite attire are matched by the director’s carnal delight in the beautiful people themselves.
- Giancarlo Giannini (Love & Anarchy, “Catch-22”, Quantum of Solace, Hannibal)
- Laura Antonelli (Passion of Love, Malizia)
- Jennifer O’Neill (Summer of ’42, Rio Lobo)
- Reframing L’innocente video essay by author Ivo Blom
- 16-page booklet with new essay by author Dan Callahan
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