Reality

REALITY

Director : Matteo Garrone

Year : 2013

Genre : Drama

Rating : ***1/2

Every year, over 30,000 people apply for the various versions of the cult TV hit 'Big Brother', which attracts both the fame hungry and the wannabe celebrities from around the world. However,while we see in detail the goings on of the actual housemates in the show through the use of intrusive cameras, we never hear about the lives of the unlucky ones who failed to make it big. Matteo Garrone's latest film 'Reality' places us right in the middle of this overwhelming majority and shows us the psychological collapse of a man who is desperate to make a name for himself by going on the show. While predictable and clearly owing a huge debt to Martin Scorsese's brilliant 'The King Of Comedy', the film is a heartbreaking story about a person who is pushed to brink of insanity by the thoughts of simply being a nobody. Superbly acted and telling a very tragic story in an involving and insightful way, 'Reality' is a fantastic addition to Garrone's already flourishing and greatly varied filmography as well as also serving as an indictment to a culture that bases itself on the vapid and empty ideology that anyone can be famous.

Luciano is a very popular fishmonger from a small neighbourhood in Naples. Extremely likable and great fun to be around, he is always the life of parties and everyone's best friend. Due to his hugely personable nature, his family encourages him to audition for a place in 'Big Brother' and after seemingly giving a very good first impression to the producers of the show, Luciano is on top of the world; convinced that he has made onto the television. However despite his great audition and his undying confidence, he hears nothing from the producers and as the airdate for the programme approaches, Luciano becomes more distant from his friends and family as the thoughts of not being chosen for the show take over his entire life and soul.

Director Matteo Garrone is probably best known for his fantastically brutal 2008 crime thriller 'Gomorrah' and while not as violent or as explosively tense as his previous movie, 'Reality' stills contains a tremendous amount of threat and menace from an invisible force; this being the almost Orwellian grasp of the chance to be famous. It does seem these days that absolutely anyone can appear on television, even if they no particular talent or personality at all. Our culture has changed so much in the past 2 decades that the person you walk past in the street could become a household name by the end of the week. Garrone spears this horrible trend in entertainment right in the heart and shows us in a quite intimate way that both fame and celebrity are things that need to be earned, not expected. Through the hand held camera work, the director is able to get right into the faces of the characters on screen and it is through their eyes that we see the collapse of a family and the effect that a life continually searching for fame can have on both the 'victim' and those trying to help. It is interesting that this abrasive and counterculture movie has originated in Italy because it is very rare that a film of this nature containing so much social satire and commentary is made in that country; usually sticking to the more traditional genres of thriller, crime and horror. However, it is very well executed and Garrone places us right in the middle of the storm brewing in both Luciano's mind and the family as a whole.

While none of the actors are familiar to us, all the cast do a fantastic job of making us empathise with their characters through the use of realistic dialogue and the aforementioned communal nature of the film. Aniello Arena is perfectly convincing as the desperate and erratic Luciano, who turns from the lovable prankster into the quiet and pensive moper. While we never empathise with his actions or the extreme ways in which he deals with his depression, we certainly sympathise with him when we see how much he needs/wants this golden opportunity  By the end of 'Reality', Luciano is a changed man and unfortunately it seems like he will never return back to his original state; his dreams have been shattered, his family has been torn apart by his hand and his life, as he sees it, is over. The rest of the cast while not at all memorable and playing basic family archetypes, act well and all help to add to the dimensions and the social effect of the movie.

Basically swept under the rug by UK distributors, 'Reality' is a very little known film and while nothing special by any means, it is certainly a thoughtful look at the current state of Western culture. Despite being a comedy with plenty of laughs, it has a jet black heart and that it what makes the movie so affecting; a movie ending on the darkest of jokes. Well acted and well directed, the film is one of the better DVD releases right now and if you are a fan of world cinema or the work of Matteo Garrone, I would definetly say it's worth a watch.