L’Innocente

Genre: romantic drama

With: Giancarlo Giannini (Tullio Hermil), Laura Antonelli (Giuliana, his wife), Jennifer O'Neill (Countess Teresa Raffo), Rina Morelli (Tullio's mother), Massimo Girotti (Count Stefano Egano), Didier Haudepin (Federico, Tullio’s brother), Marc Porel (Filippo d’Arborio)

Director: Luchino Visconti

Screenplay: Suso Cecchi D'Amico, Enrico Medioli and Luchino Visconti (based on Gabriele D'Annunzio’s novel)

Release: 1976

Studio: Rizzoli Film, Les Films Jacques Leitienne, Imp.Ex.Ci. et al.

Rating: R

MBiS score: 8.7/10

  

“I never wanted this. I loved him.”

 

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Story-line: as a member of Roman aristocracy, Tullio Hermil enjoys a charmed life devoted to his fencing skills, his wife Giuliana and his mistress Teresa…but his days of bliss may have come to an end. Teresa, tired of sharing him with another woman, has asked him to commit exclusively to her.  

Pluses: forceful acting by the intense Giancarlo Giannini (as a macho, stubborn Tullio), Laura Antonelli (his fragile wife) and Jennifer O’Neill (the passionate Teresa), masterful direction, cinematography and editing that bring out the more essential elements of the story, an accomplished screenplay and luxurious production values (sets, costumes, period detail and music).

Minuses: none I can think of.   

Comments: this last work by the great Luchino Visconti (1906-1976) is remarkable for its character interplay and an ultimately pathetic story that proceeds leisurely but determinedly towards its intended goal. Using a palette of passion and coldness, innuendo and jealousy, double standards and changing personal dynamics, L’INNOCENTE presents a serious and spellbinding essay on love, loss and the volatility of human emotions.   

 

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