Who owns our life? Let’s find out.
Paolo Sorrentino is known for creating films where the protagonist is questioning the meaning of life or where, ultimately, they must find their path with what’s left of their current one. In Youth (2015) two best friends are vacationing in the Swiss Alps as they ponder retirement; The Great Beauty (2014) has Jep Gambardella (Toni Servillo) reminiscing on his past seductions after a surprise at his 65th birthday party; and La Grazia (2025) follows the President of the Republic as he is about to end his eighth year in office. Questioning life and how you want to spend what you have of yours is universal – everyone in the world feels it at some point. The way in which Sorrentino can craft the world of his film(s) around such a broad idea is something always different and unexpected.
Now, a year after Parthenope (2024) premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, Sorrentino has partnered with Servillo – a partnership in which the performances create a certain response in the audience. La Grazia has opened the 82nd Venice Film Festival in Competition. Mariano De Santis (Servillo) is President of the Republic and has six months left in office before he is, as his friends tell him, ‘free’. Over his term(s) he became known for his stubbornness and an all too careful approach to governing and politics, he became named “Cemento Armato” (reinforced concrete) by those around him. After the loss of his wife, he has become old and isolated amid the halls of the presidential palace and spends his time listening to rap music or wandering the corridors. Though his daughter, Dorotea (Anna Ferzetti), lives with him, he still feels trapped and lonely as they do not understand each other. Before his time as president is up, he is left with three tough decisions to make: choosing whether to make two presidential pardons and signing a bill on euthanasia, which would become groundbreaking. Whatever he chooses, he knows, will be how his legacy is cemented in time.
Introducing the viewer into this new world he has created, Sorrentino hooks the audience from the beginning with his choice to use rap music. As the President of the Republic and a man over middle-age, audiences would not expect this to be the music associated with him. Yet, choosing to bring this in right from the beginning allows Sorrentino to hint at parts of Mariano that the viewer will soon be able to piece together. As with a compelling contrast between current rap and classical music, as he used in The Great Beauty, Sorrentino brings the same elements to La Grazia. As Mariano hides pieces of himself from other characters, the viewer becomes privy to his private information as he secretly listens to rap music and enjoys it ever so greatly. While our protagonist listens to his own taste in music, Sorrentino chooses classical music and a calmer film score in a non-diegetic fashion. The choices he makes not only allow the audience to understand and connect with Mariano more, but it also underlines the visual and thematic elements within La Grazia. A broad range of music provides a vivid emotional connection for the viewer. Without these modern and electronic sounds, La Grazia could have become a film that was as lonely and empty as its president.
La Grazia is not only a film about life but about conflicts and morals as well. After playing dubious characters in past Sorrentino films, Servillo’s role as Mariano changes tone. Reminiscent of The Good Beauty in that Servillo portrays a character confronting the future, La Grazia is more focused on normalizing a president. The current news constantly has leaders shown doing what they want and appearing to not take the time to properly think things over, Sorrentino has displayed to the world what he believes a president should be. Not only is this evident when watching La Grazia, but he recently spoke with Variety ahead of the premiere to discuss the message behind the film. After constant “…decisions made by politicians that stem from impetuosity, show of force and strange twisted ideas…[he] wanted to depict what a politician should be like.” (Variety, August 27, 2025). When you watch La Grazia it feels completely like Sorrentino tried to develop his president as a real person. With empathy and connection, Mariano becomes more real for the audience instead of a political figure in the distance. We are able to truly connect with him, through his loneliness, sorrow, and even his indecisiveness and precision to detail. Combining these elements of a beautifully written character with the power of Servillo’s performance brings the character and the story of La Grazia to life. It feels like a character study as well as a study of morals.
As President Mariano studies his life and future, audiences can study the film itself. The beauty and precision in each shot make La Grazia a gorgeous feature to the eye. The lights and darks create a new distinction between different tones presented. Sorrentino knows how to shoot a film and as the camera carefully watches each character, it makes it even more obvious for the viewer to experience the mise-en-scene. It is exceptional just how well he presents his new creations to the world. Without this precision, the film could have been difficult to watch as different uses of camera angles might not have allowed the viewer to see into each character.
Always questioning life and its purpose, La Grazia also provides a fresh look at ideas of politicians. While it provides answers to the question of Who owns our life, it creates an individual question in each viewer. La Grazia is a statement for cinema and a new, yet familiar, creation for Sorrentino.
