The Interval
Starring: Salvatore Ruocco, Francesca Riso, Alessio Gallo
Director: Leonardo di Costanzo
Rating: 4/5
The Interval is one of a string of Italian movies to be screened at this year's BFI London Film Festival as Leonardo di Costanzo moves away from the documentary film for the first time.
A young man and woman are confined in a huge abandoned building in a working-class neighbourhood. One must watch over the other.
He has teamed up with writer Maurizio Braucci who has a knack for writing gritty script having penned the likes of Gomorrah.
She is a captive and he is forced by the local mobster to be her jailer. Despite their youth, both act older than their age - Veronica as a mature and uninhibited woman, and Salvatore as a young man who must follow orders to preserve his own well-being.
They react differently to the violence that is all around them. Veronica is restless and rebellious; Salvatore is yielding and more accommodating; but who knows if it is out or fear or pragmatism.
Both are essentially victims, but they blame each other for their imprisonment. As time goes by however, the hostility between the pair softens, leading to intimacy, punctuated with mutual discoveries and confessions.
The Interval is a fantastic character piece from Costanzo that shows the progression of two teenagers from childhood to adulthood.
What is so great about this movie is the fact that Salvatore Ruocco and Francesca Riso are inexperienced actors as the performances that they deliver are so real.
You would not know that they have no acting experience as they deliver dramatic and heart-felt performances that will engage the audience from start to finish.
And the way that Costanzo has shot this movie really helps that as it may set in Naples but they don't really venture out into the city.
The setting of the abandoned building really does strip all of the distractions of the outside world away to leave the audience solely focused on this two incredibly interesting characters.
And there is a real bond that develops between the two characters that feel so genuine and there is a sense of camaraderie that begins to build.
The Interval is a great narrative debut from Costanzo as this really is a movie about lost youth and a childhood that has slipped away.
The BFI London Film Festival runs 10 - 21 October
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Tagged in BFI