Late in Reality one character says to another, “You’re overdoing it.” Writer/director Matteo Garrone would have done well to heed these words as Reality begins overdoing it about 20 minutes in and still has about 95 minutes to go. I understand Garrone wanted to target the generation of mindless drones reality television has created, but it would appear he didn’t have anything more to say on the subject than what has already been said.
Our leads are innocent enough, the story centering on Luciano (Aniello Arena), a family man with three kids and a loving wife. He owns his own fish stand in Naples and he and his wife are doing their best to get by, including a little shady dealing on the side, but nothing so dramatic it’s worth getting worked up over.
These, however, are merely the particulars.
Reality begins with a lavish wedding ceremony. A horse drawn carriage is taking a newlywed couple to La Sunrisa. The celebration continues into the night, dinner is served, pictures are taken and then the main attraction finally arrives. It’s Enzo! Who is he? Don’t you know? He was the latest “Grande Fratello” (the Italian version of Big Brother”) champion! He stayed on the show for 116 days and the people love him for it!
Luciano and his family are just as awestruck by Enzo as the rest and when given the opportunity to audition for the show’s next season, Luciano jumps at the chance with the full support of his family and friends.
After a successful first and second round of auditions, confidence is high, too high in fact, and a crazed paranoia begins to settle in. Virtually anyone Luciano doesn’t recognize he believes is doing surveillance for the show, checking in to see if he has what it takes to be a contestant. He remains optimistic, confident he’ll be chosen and fame and fortune are just around the corner.
The first idea being explored here is this shift Luciano encounters, a shift from reality into a made up fictional world. Garrone accomplishes this quite well combining Arena’s smile and self-confidence with a dreamlike, wonderland score provided by Alexandre Desplat.
Additionally, there’s an examination of what it truly means to be successful in life. Does money define you or is it the life you make that defines you? Sure, Luciano and his wife were struggling to make ends meet, but he owned his own business, his wife was employed and they had three children. Success is relative to how you define it and different for each of us. Before this opportunity arrived I’d argue Luciano believed he was successful, but the opportunity caused him to redefine his life… clearly for the worse.
Garrone, like most of us, seems incredulous at the idea someone who can act like an idiot on television can be so quickly immortalized and beloved by an adoring public. I’m with him. Problem is, these ideas and scenarios being explored in Reality and being discussed in this review aren’t anything new. Reality becomes repetitive, tiresome and one note really quickly as it continues to say the same thing over and over, and Luciano’s break from reality is only so interesting for so long before it becomes nothing more than annoying.
I won’t discount the film entirely, however. Garrone (whose Gomorrah is certainly worth watching) is clearly an accomplished filmmaker and Reality isn’t without its positives. It may be redundant, but Garrone can really frame a scene. Several tracking shots are all effective and expertly crafted and the casting is spot on.
Arena is solid as Luciano, but what is more fascinating than anything else having to do with this film is Arena himself. Why is he fascinating? Because not only is this his feature film debut, but he is currently serving a 20-year-to-life term in prison for double murder, but was allowed out during the day to film his role. That, in and of itself, is more interesting than the whole of Reality and would have made for a far more interesting story. Why Garrone chose Arena is something I currently don’t know. Perhaps it’s the irony that I’m more interested in the reality behind the making of the film, but whatever the answer is, the mystery will intrigue me long after I’ve forgotten the film.
All things said, despite some classic filmmaking, Reality is a narrative dud. Everything that need be said is realized before the film even begins and Garrone simply manages to use the 115 minute running time to beat it into our heads with some solid performances, fantastic composition, a great score and repetitive scenes until our lead actor is left brain dead and giggling. Garrone has surely made a statement, but it isn’t a statement anyone with a brain hasn’t made 100 times in the last several years as the rise of the Kardashians and “Real Housewives” has taken center stage and the world just can’t seem to get enough.
