Francesco Sossai's new film The Last One for the Road is a tragicomedy that refuses to acknowledge the clinical concept of alcoholism. Instead, it serves as a cynically amused witness to drunkenness, sadness, and the tragicomic optimism of ageing boozers who keep drinking in hope of happiness or wisdom. The film opens and closes with the same gag: a crucial piece of life advice shouted inaudibly at a farewell.
Plot and Characters
The road movie follows Doriano (Pierpaolo Capovilla) and Carlobianchi (Sergio Romano), two middle-aged wasters who live hand-to-mouth on the fringes of crime. They drive a luxurious car bought with proceeds from a scam involving stolen designer glasses, orchestrated by their friend Genio (Andrea Pennacchi). Genio fled the country to evade police and is now returning to Venice, but a blunder causes Doriano and Carlobianchi to miss him.
They meet Giulio (Filippo Scotti), a young architecture student nursing an unrequited love. The unlikely trio bumbles around Venice and Treviso, including a visit to the postmodernist Brion tomb designed by Carlo Scarpa, a concrete meditation on death.
Themes and Tone
The film is a bittersweet comedy without the sweet, intensely depressing yet funny. It embraces infantilism and refuses coming of age. The shaggy-dog tale may be an urban legend within Sossai's own family, referencing an ageing employee named Primo Sossai. The unsentimental view of Venice includes a glimpse of Santa Croce and Venice Treviso airport, described as Italy's equivalent of Luton.
According to the review, the film suggests Doriano and Carlobianchi heal Giulio's romantic pain, though his love may not be entirely unrequited. Giulio becomes the real third musketeer when Genio proves a poor friend.
Release
The Last One for the Road is in UK and Irish cinemas from 10 July.
