Parthenope

2024

2h 17m

IMDb RATING

6.7/10

673

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99+ Images

Drama

Parthenope, born in the sea near Naples in 1950, is beautiful, enigmatic, and intelligent. She is shamelessly courted by many. However, beauty comes at a cost.

Directors

Paolo Sorrentino

Writers

Paolo Sorrentino(writer by)

Stars

Celeste Dalla Porta

Stefania Sandrelli

Gary Oldman

See production, box office & company info

Top cast

Parthenope

Parthenope (old)

John Cheever

Devoto Marotta

Greta Cool

Bishop

Flora Malva

Maggie

Sasà

Raimondo

Sandrino

Roberto Criscuolo

Comandante

Tonino Messia

Riccardo Macchia

Francesca Romana Bergamo

Madre Sandrino

Brando Improta

Carabiniere

Riccardo Lai

Spilungone

Directors

Paolo Sorrentino

Writers

Paolo Sorrentino(writer by)

All cast & crew

Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Along the lines of the legendary beauty Aphrodite, “Parthenope” (Celeste Dalla Porta) was born in the sea and grew to become a great temptress to both of her male contemporaries. The first being her obsessed brother “Raimondo” (Daniele Rienzo) and the other her adoring childhood friend “Sandrino” (Dario Aita) whose unrequited love for her drove him to distraction. Not, however, to such distraction as that of her sibling, It’s when the trio decide to head for an unfunded trip from their home in Naples to the nearby island of Capri that she meets elderly American writer/dipso “Cheever” (Gary Oldman) who finds her intriguing but appears to have a certain immunity to her charms and she’s not used to that. Whilst on this carefree trip there befalls a tragic realisation that causes all of them to appreciate the stark realities and fickle shallowness of their lives and brings into focus senses of grief, rejection and emptiness. It’s a beautifully photographed piece of cinema, this film, with sparing dialogue and a sexually, but not explicitly so, charged chemistry abundant throughout this rather visually extravagant but disappointingly soulless drama. It is a bit like a postcard upon which is a beautiful picture but just too few words to develop the characters or to quite put enough meat on their perfectly formed bones. Indeed as the second hour starts to drag, the whole thing begins to look more like a repetitively self-indulgent vanity exercise that might be rooted in mythology but that struggles to engage beyond the superficial. It’s classy and stylish and well worth a look - but look appears to be all Paolo Sorrentino wants us to do.

Geronimo196725 May, 2025