By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Adam Leon
Starring: Claire Buchanan | David Ajala | Lauren Colasanti | Maya Hawke | Simon Brickner | Taylor Clanton | Vanessa Kirby
Country: united_states
Year: 2022
Running time: 81
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9893084/reference
Michael says: “This is a curious, nearly experimental film that rides mainly on the strength of Vanessa Kirby’s performance. In a dreamlike sojourn through a New York City night, Kirby plays Alina Reynolds, a writer of a collection of short stories titled Italian Studies, who abruptly enters something of a fugue state while out shopping in a hardware store, and wanders off into the night, leaving her dog tethered by the door, no memory of her identity. She encounters a teen name Simon, at a fast food restaurant who tries to resell her some hot dogs, and the two begin to wander together. Scenes of various teens being interviewed are cut into the narrative, startling in their professionalism and in stark contrast to the dreamlike nature of Alina’s wanderings. One young woman she encounters gives her a clue to her identity, as she is asked if the is the writer Alina Reynolds. From there, she goes to a library and reads the stories in her book. Further scenes following that same group of teens being interviewed as they move through the streets of New York, including one teen that may or may not be representing Reynolds… or perhaps a character from one of her stories, add to the meta element of the film while deepening the exploration into this woman’s psyche. The fils is book-ended by Reynolds in the present, in London, at a recording session with her sound engineer husband. She goes out fo have a cigarette and is recognized by a young woman who identifies as one of the teens with whom she wandered during that night in New York. This mention propels her back to that time and when she returns, she wants to just put it aside as something that happened to her that didn’t really impact her life, even though it seemed to have had quite an impact on Simon. ITALIAN STUDIES is a challenging film, difficult to follow, and probably will be irritating to some, but I flowed along with Alina, thoroughly engaged by Kirby’s performance (I was similarly struck by her work in PIECES OF A WOMAN) and ended up enjoying it. 3.5 cats
“Screened at Tribeca Festival 2021”
Sara responds: “Also watched ITALIAN STUDIES and came to conclusions similar to those you articulated so well. I agree that Kirby’s performances in both films are eminently watchable.”