This Italian thriller successfully combines two quite distinct genres: romance and horror. Sonia (Kseniya Rappoport), a lonely hotel cleaner newly arrived in Turin, tries speed dating and meets Guido, an equally-lonely ex-policeman. The two fall in love, but their dream is shattered when some very nasty things start happening, leaving Sonia to question her sanity.
The three screenwriters (Alessandro Fabbri, Ludovica Rampoldi and Stefano Sardo) have crafted a surprising and clever plot that manages to stay just the right side of hokey. First-time director Giuseppe Capotondi has filmed it as a serious noir picture with thoughtful cinematography and editing that really builds up tension.
What really lifts the film, though, are the performances of the two leads, which seem to belong in a gritty drama set on a council estate rather than a thriller. Rappoport (imagine a really pretty version of Juliet Stevenson) looks haunted and lost beautifully throughout, and Timi (a quintessential Italian stallion) mixes strength and subtle sadness in every scene. Both deservedly won awards at the Venice Film Festival.
Apparently La doppia ora may be remade in America, and one can only assume that Hollywood will ignore the moving psychological explorations in favour of plot, which will be a great loss; it is the spanning of so many genres that makes this film really worth seeing.
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