{"id":31496,"date":"2024-07-25T22:40:04","date_gmt":"2024-07-25T21:40:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/?p=31496"},"modified":"2024-07-25T22:40:04","modified_gmt":"2024-07-25T21:40:04","slug":"finally-dawn-by-saverio-costanzo-an-unrealized-thriller-a-nostalgic-fairy-tale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/finally-dawn-by-saverio-costanzo-an-unrealized-thriller-a-nostalgic-fairy-tale\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cFinally Dawn\u201d by Saverio Costanzo: An Unrealized Thriller, A Nostalgic Fairy Tale"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Still from Finally Dawn<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As the <\/span><\/span>shooting<\/span><\/span> concludes, <\/span><\/span>the <\/span><\/span>helpless and somnambulistic Mimosa<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>lost in the labyrinthine Cinecitt<\/span><\/span>\u00e0<\/span><\/span>, stumbles upon a limousine carrying the<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>aloof siren Josephine, her introspective partner Sean Lockwood (Joe Keery), and the kind-hearted art dealer Rufus (Willem Dafoe). The company takes Mimosa under their wing, whisking her away to a villa teeming<\/span><\/span> with<\/span><\/span> a demi-monde of influential philanderers, artists, patrons, and ordinary bon vivants. Josephine introduces her prot<\/span><\/span>\u00e9<\/span><\/span>g<\/span><\/span>\u00e9 <\/span><\/span>as <\/span><\/span>S<\/span><\/span>andy, a <\/span><\/span>promising Swedish poetess, though it’s <\/span><\/span>un<\/span><\/span>clear how Mimosa relates<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>to <\/span><\/span>yet<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>another<\/span><\/span> identity shift of the day, as she maintains only two <\/span><\/span>facial <\/span><\/span>expressions throughout the film: stunned and stunned-pleased. <\/span><\/span>Thus<\/span><\/span>, the unfamiliar attention from the public seems to genuinely<\/span><\/span> stun<\/span><\/span> her.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Still from Finally Dawn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Josephine, having had her fun, callously discards her plaything to the wolves<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>she <\/span><\/span>proposes<\/span><\/span> the <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>poetess<\/span><\/span>\u201d <\/span><\/span>to recite her <\/span><\/span>latest<\/span><\/span>creations. A tense silence ensues, and instead of verses, to spite her tormentor, Mimosa <\/span><\/span>drops a few<\/span><\/span> tears<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>a <\/span><\/span>performance<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>that deeply moves and pleases the crowd. Immediately<\/span><\/span>, s<\/span><\/span>he is offered patronage, with a publisher practically begging her to sign a contract, and no one questions why this <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>Swede<\/span><\/span>\u201d <\/span><\/span>is short, curly-haired, and dark-<\/span><\/span>skinned<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>
\n<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Still from Finally Dawn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The initial<\/span><\/span> three-quarters of the film<\/span><\/span> pass, with an<\/span><\/span> escalating rhythm and <\/span><\/span>a <\/span><\/span>retro charm<\/span><\/span> make it <\/span><\/span>quite engaging to watch<\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span>However<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>as the plot becomes increasingly tethered to the <\/span><\/span>caprices<\/span><\/span> of its characters, it lose<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span> momentum, bogging down in an interminable night.<\/span><\/span> D<\/span><\/span>uring <\/span><\/span>this<\/span><\/span> nocturnal odyssey, Mimosa undergoes various rites of passage (a spark of attraction<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>ignites between her and Sean)<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>a night of maturation<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>tha<\/span><\/span>t<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>frankly, makes grow<\/span><\/span>ing<\/span><\/span> up<\/span><\/span> seem <\/span><\/span>rather undesirable. <\/span><\/span>T<\/span><\/span>he finale, with the dawn, features the baffling appearance of a<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>CGI<\/span><\/span>–<\/span><\/span>lioness<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>seemingly escaped from Cinecitt<\/span><\/span>\u00e0 <\/span><\/span>and animated with a dated smartphone app, parading alongside the protagonist through the streets of <\/span><\/span>the Eternal City<\/span><\/span>. This overused symbolism<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>or<\/span><\/span>Fellinism<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> is generally the main issue <\/span><\/span>with<\/span><\/span>Saverio Costanzo, from whom <\/span><\/span>audiences<\/span><\/span> continue to expect performance<\/span><\/span>s on par<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>with <\/span><\/span>those of Sorrentino and Guadagnino.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Still from Finally Dawn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In truth, one could easily overlook this far-from-harmonious<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>film if it weren’t for its meticulously conveyed <\/span><\/span>cinematic <\/span><\/span>atmosphere which, though pretentious, manages to sustain states of <\/span><\/span>suspense, <\/span><\/span>anticipation, attention, and sens<\/span><\/span>uality<\/span><\/span>. What was likely conceived as a poetic homage<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>to <\/span><\/span>the <\/span><\/span>old Cinecitt<\/span><\/span>\u00e0 <\/span><\/span>is<\/span><\/span>, in essence,<\/span><\/span> a fairy tale, replete with <\/span><\/span>sham<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>overwhelming <\/span><\/span>gloss, caricatured characters, and a <\/span><\/span>too-narrow<\/span><\/span> perspective. <\/span><\/span>Somehow this<\/span><\/span> fairy tale serves as a metaphor for an eternal night<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>the sensation<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>experience<\/span><\/span>d<\/span><\/span> every time <\/span><\/span>one<\/span><\/span> enter<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span>a cinema. Following “The Solitude of Prime Numbers” and “Hungry Hearts,” Costanzo has crafted another uneven film, this time with exceptional charm (but lacking character), which you admire until the end, following its lead, only to later chide yourself for <\/span><\/span>such<\/span><\/span> naivety.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n