General
Luciano (Aniello Arena) sees the rewards of winning Italy’s Big Brother TV, after a visit from last year’s winner at a wedding he is attending. With times being hard, running his fish stall, local character Luciano sees getting on this year’s show as his and his family’s way out of a humdrum, penny-pinching existence. He thinks he’s in with a good chance of being picked for the House after being invited to the main auditions. What begins as determination and ambition turns into obsession that affects his family and ultimately, his own wellbeing.
There is also a lot of natural humour to be had in Reality, for example, when Luciano and family visit the local water park and he supposedly gets ‘the call’ he’s been waiting for. These lighter moments contrast beautifully with the darker ones, such as Luciano becoming delusional in nature and even more isolated. There is also an unsavoury element with a weaken Luciano exposed to corruption from the local underbelly of have-nots, even if this appears charitable to start with. The final scenes are utterly wretched and deeply moving as Garrone lets events play out to translate the harsh reality of getting a whiff of celerity but being closed off to it, too. These scenes are some of the most memorable and affecting, long after the end credits roll.
Reality is just that; a chilling dose of filmic reality of how damaging and all consuming celebrity and some people’s aspirations of it can be in this day and age, without being patronising in its efforts, almost subliminal in message. The film’s natural cinematic sense plays to its strengths further, making it a notable gem of filmmaking to catch, which translates into any language.
[Rating:4/5]