你想要的一切

Lauded as a David di Donatello Award-winning screenwriter, Francesco Bruni (a longtime collaborator of Paolo Virzì) dabbled on the directorial chair in 2011, and EVERYTHING YOU WANT is his third feature, a sober if none-too-unconventional dramedy bridging the intergenerational rapport with certain efficacy.

Alessandro (Carpenzano), on the face of it, is like any number of an adolescent, working-class yob in Rome, dropped out of school and has no fixed job, he is thick as thieves with Riccardo (Bruni), Tommi (Propizio) and Leo (Vitiello), and covertly engages some hanky-panky with Riccardo’s mother Claudia (Finocchiaro). But his lounging days are going to change when he reluctantly accepts the odd job as a walking companion of the 85-year-old poet Giorgio (Montaldo), who is afflicted with Alzheimer’s, but sane and ambulatory enough to be a beacon figure to set Alessandro onto the right track, especially by his writings etched on the walls of his study, it may or may not conceal the clues of a hidden treasure, that is what Alessandro and his co. determines to find out.

Melding the well-intentioned bond-forming between the young and the old, with restive vibes of a spontaneous adventure, EVERYTHING YOU WANT is first and foremost, a civil if formulaic tale that exalts and extols kindness and human-to-human mutual understanding and respect, and admirably steers away from being mawkish.

After all, the bark of Alessandro’s caddish coterie is worse than their bite, trifling away their time with RPG video games, petty antes before their destined parted ways, even Riccardo, the meanest one, is merely a zitty kid who needs a harangue to bring him to his senses. Through their quality time with Giorgio, they all become a better person, but the focus is unbiased on Alessandro, and a tattooed Carpenzano simmers with his movie star appeal, more than his telegenic appearance, he can also convey subtlety with a vengeance, and the two-handers between him and an octogenarian Montaldo (the acclaimed filmmaker behind SACCO E VANZETTI 1971, THE GOLD RIMMED GLASSES 1987, etc.) become the soul of a film that prospers on bonhomie and love, a cliche still retains its universal charm.

referential entries: Paolo Virzì’s LIKE CRAZY (2016, 6.8/10); Paolo Genovese’s THE PLACE (2017, 6.8/10).