Italian Director Stefano Sollima on Why He Depicted Rome ‘As Though It Was L.A.’ in Gritty Crime Drama ‘Adagio’
variety.comNick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italian genre specialist Stefano Sollima – who is known in Hollywood for “Sicario: Day of the Soldado,” “Without Remorse” and the TV series “Gomorrah” – is in the Venice competition for the first time with Rome-set crime drama “Adagio.” This beautifully shot picture features an ensemble cast of Italian A-listers comprising Pierfrancesco Favino (“Nostalgia”), Toni Servillo (“The Great Beauty”), Valerio Mastandrea (“Perfect Strangers”) and Adriano Giannini (“The Ties”).
It’s the tale of three old – and once mighty – mobsters searching for redemption in a cutthroat contemporary Rome that is literally burning.
They find it in the form of a 16 year old named Manuel who is being blackmailed after venturing too deep in a rotting Roman underworld world that he doesn’t understand. You often work from books such as “Gomorrah” but this is your original idea.
How did it germinate? “Adagio” – this is no secret – is a gift that I made to myself. I liked the idea of going back to depicting Rome, the city where I live and which I love.
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