Nanni Moretti has become what he never wanted to be

The programme came back to mind whilst watching Nanni Moretti’s ‘Succederà questa notte’, in competition at the Venice Film Festival. It was a TV programme that pitted a young man against an older, but established, one. It was called ‘Match’, and sitting in his armchair as the interviewer was Alberto Arbasino, with his moustache. It was the 1970s, and the audience smoked in the studio. In the episode of 14 December 1977 (thanks to Teche Rai), the successful director Mario Monicelli faced off against Nanni Moretti, who, at the age of 24, had directed Io sono un autarchico – Ecce bombo was to be released the following year. Nanni Moretti (wearing a jumper and Clarks, and sporting a moustache just like Arbasino) displayed the arrogance of a young man convinced he had invented – if not cinema itself – a more beautiful and proper way of writing and filming it. Perhaps: the way.

It recalls the dispute during the calmer days of “Succederà questa notte”: Nanni Moretti has become precisely what he never wanted to be. A master to be revered out of sheer partisanship, without taking into account the films he writes and directs. The French New Wave filmmakers, who had invented the formula for sneering at rival directors, would call it ‘cinéma de papa’.

“It Will Happen Tonight” tells the story of a whirlwind romance between Jasmine Trinca and Philippe Garrel. They meet at her wedding: the bride arrives on the tennis court and, with sheer determination, wins a game. Instead of hating her, he falls head over heels in love with her and bides his time. Meanwhile, he takes his elderly, ailing father to a Bruce Springsteen concert – without taking away his Viagra.

It certainly does not feel like a Nanni Moretti film, least of all the one from Bianca, his most unbalanced film on the subject of love – the director cannot tolerate unhappy couples, and takes the law into his own hands. Nor does it feel like a film about romantic passion – despite two sex scenes. These represent a significant improvement over the infamous scene from Caos calmo, featuring Moretti himself and Isabella Ferrari—in the script a wealthy, elegant woman—wearing a pair of black knickers that are no longer available in haberdashery shops. At least in bed they are naked. When fully clothed, they seem out of this world and out of time. Nanni Moretti has never paid attention to the details that make cinema – and make the characters believable.

It’s not a question of wardrobe in “The Echo Chamber” by Andrea Pallaoro, who directed Bernardo Bertolucci’s final screenplay. Leaving it in the drawer would have done the beloved director a better service. We’re in London – which is never actually seen. In a large flat is Luca Marinelli, a record producer with serious drug problems. He is working on an album with the singer Susan Sarandon – referred to in the plot as ‘Old Glory’. There are so many lulls that we have found ourselves retracing Susan Sarandon’s career, with particular fondness for The Rocky Horror Picture Show, where she played the shy bride, the favourite prey of the ‘sweet transvestite’ Frank-N-Furter (the actor Tim Curry has recently passed away). There are also numerous scenes featuring Alicia Vikander as a nurse who provides painkillers and sex. Although the film has been widely feted and praised, we would advise prospective viewers to proceed with caution.