The Consequences of Love
Encyclopedia
The Consequences of Love is a 2004 Italian psychological thriller film directed by Paolo Sorrentino
. It tells the story of a lonely and secretive Italian businessman living in a Swiss hotel. The film competed at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival
. It won five David di Donatello
awards including Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor. It was also the first film to achieve widespread critical acclaim for Sorrentino.
, Switzerland
. Every day he puts on his suit and wanders around, avoiding contact with people. In the morning, he solves the chess puzzles in the paper and in the evening he plays Grabber with a bankrupt aristocratic couple who are marooned in the hotel they used to own. Occasionally, he rings his family in Italy
but his wife is always reluctant to talk, and his grown-up children despise him. He develops feelings for Sofia, the beautiful and stylish waitress at the bar of the hotel but he refuses to speak to her because, in his shyness, he fears that love would complicate his monotone but quiet life.
The reasons behind Titta's strange existence gradually become apparent. The story actually becomes clear only at the end of the movie. Eight years ago, it is revealed, Titta was a broker
who invested large sums of money. One day, he invested 250 billion Italian lira
s on behalf of Cosa Nostra, losing 220 billions in a few hours. By way of punishment, Titta was forced to live for the rest of his life as a mafia
pawn, making regular deliveries of suitcases full of money to a Swiss bank.
Titta's other secret is that he is a heroin user. Every Wednesday at ten a.m., this respectable forty-nine-year-old businessman goes up to his hotel room and injects himself with the drug.
One day, things start to happen: two Mafia men suddenly arrive in his hotel room, which they intend to use as a base in order to carry out an assassination. As the two gangsters leave, they notice the suitcase containing the money that Titta must deliver that week. Later, Titta's gregarious younger stepbrother turns up. He encourages Titta to engage with Sofia more, and Sofia and Titta begin an awkward relationship which is romantic but not sexual. They go shopping together, and Titta buys her some shoes.
Meanwhile, during Titta's trip to the bank that week, the bank staff counting the money by hand discover that there is $100,000 missing. Titta is already aware of this, but pretends to be outraged at their "mistake" and asks to close his account. His bluff achieves the intended result: in order to avoid offending him, and partly out of fear of the Mafia, the bank staff pretend that they miscounted, and so his theft goes unreported.
It eventually turns out that Titta has stolen the money in order to buy an expensive car for Sofia. She is initially appalled by this gift, as she feels she does not know him well enough, but later comes up to his room to apologise and to try to discover more about him. Titta reveals all his secrets to her, and Sofia is so touched that she offers to celebrate his 50th birthday with him on the following evening. He accepts.
The next day, the two Mafia assassins return and steal that week's suitcase. Titta panics and immediately telephones his Mafia
contact, Pippo, who tells him to fly to Southern Italy that day to explain. But then Titta regains his composure, grabs his gun and switches off the power for the elevator, forcing the Mafia men to use the stairs as a getaway. This slows them down, and Titta is able to use the lift himself to get to the carpark ahead of them. He hides in his car, and kills the duo when they arrive.
Despite recovering the money, Titta decides to fly to Southern Italy anyway to explain himself. His reasons are initially unclear and he seems uncertain about following through his plans, partly because they will force him to miss his supper with Sofia. However, when Sofia fails to turn up, a despondent Titta, thinking that no-one loves him, leaves for the airport. Actually, Sofia does not turn up because she is involved in a car crash.
Arriving at destination, Titta is taken to a nearby hotel and, after waiting in a guestroom, is interrogated by a capo di tutti capi
. Titta explains that he has recovered the money but then says he does not want to give it back. At this point, the Mafia boss ominously tells a subordinate to transfer Titta's account to someone else before asking Titta to tell him where the money is. Titta again refuses. He is led away by guards and the next morning is taken to a building site. Here he is suspended from a crane above a container of fresh concrete, and told that unless he reveals the money's whereabouts, he will be drowned in the concrete. As he has already given the money to the elderly aristocrats in the hotel, he refuses.
The film ends with Titta being lowered into the concrete and thinking of his long-lost friend Dino, who works as an electrician in the Alps
.
. The most memorable scene features Titta injecting himself with heroin and sees the camera flip 180 degrees as it follows Titta's falling head. Critics have also praised the film's tracking shots and the opening sequence, which depicts a bright white corridor.
and postrock music, with songs from bands including Mogwai
, Lali Puna
, Boards of Canada
and Terranova.
Paolo Sorrentino
Paolo Sorrentino is an Italian film director and screenwriter. He was born in Naples.Sorrentino's first film as screenwriter, Polvere di Napoli, was released in 1998. He began directing several short movies, like L'amore non ha confini, in 1998, and La notte lunga, in 2001...
. It tells the story of a lonely and secretive Italian businessman living in a Swiss hotel. The film competed at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival
2004 Cannes Film Festival
The 2004 Cannes Film Festival started on May 12 and ran until May 23. The Palme d'Or went to the American film Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore.-Jury:* Quentin Tarantino, President * Emmanuelle Béart * Edwidge Danticat * Tilda Swinton...
. It won five David di Donatello
David di Donatello
David di Donatello, named after Donatello's David, is a movie award assigned each year for cinematic performances and production by Ente David di Donatello, part of Accademia del Cinema Italiano. It is the Italian equivalent to the Academy Award. There are 24 categories as of 2006.- History :The...
awards including Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor. It was also the first film to achieve widespread critical acclaim for Sorrentino.
Plot
Titta Di Girolamo is a middle-aged loner who has spent the last eight years living in an upmarket hotel in LuganoLugano
Lugano is a city of inhabitants in the city proper and a total of over 145,000 people in the agglomeration/city region, in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. Every day he puts on his suit and wanders around, avoiding contact with people. In the morning, he solves the chess puzzles in the paper and in the evening he plays Grabber with a bankrupt aristocratic couple who are marooned in the hotel they used to own. Occasionally, he rings his family in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
but his wife is always reluctant to talk, and his grown-up children despise him. He develops feelings for Sofia, the beautiful and stylish waitress at the bar of the hotel but he refuses to speak to her because, in his shyness, he fears that love would complicate his monotone but quiet life.
The reasons behind Titta's strange existence gradually become apparent. The story actually becomes clear only at the end of the movie. Eight years ago, it is revealed, Titta was a broker
Broker
A broker is a party that arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller, and gets a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal...
who invested large sums of money. One day, he invested 250 billion Italian lira
Italian lira
The lira was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. Between 1999 and 2002, the Italian lira was officially a “national subunit” of the euro...
s on behalf of Cosa Nostra, losing 220 billions in a few hours. By way of punishment, Titta was forced to live for the rest of his life as a mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
pawn, making regular deliveries of suitcases full of money to a Swiss bank.
Titta's other secret is that he is a heroin user. Every Wednesday at ten a.m., this respectable forty-nine-year-old businessman goes up to his hotel room and injects himself with the drug.
One day, things start to happen: two Mafia men suddenly arrive in his hotel room, which they intend to use as a base in order to carry out an assassination. As the two gangsters leave, they notice the suitcase containing the money that Titta must deliver that week. Later, Titta's gregarious younger stepbrother turns up. He encourages Titta to engage with Sofia more, and Sofia and Titta begin an awkward relationship which is romantic but not sexual. They go shopping together, and Titta buys her some shoes.
Meanwhile, during Titta's trip to the bank that week, the bank staff counting the money by hand discover that there is $100,000 missing. Titta is already aware of this, but pretends to be outraged at their "mistake" and asks to close his account. His bluff achieves the intended result: in order to avoid offending him, and partly out of fear of the Mafia, the bank staff pretend that they miscounted, and so his theft goes unreported.
It eventually turns out that Titta has stolen the money in order to buy an expensive car for Sofia. She is initially appalled by this gift, as she feels she does not know him well enough, but later comes up to his room to apologise and to try to discover more about him. Titta reveals all his secrets to her, and Sofia is so touched that she offers to celebrate his 50th birthday with him on the following evening. He accepts.
The next day, the two Mafia assassins return and steal that week's suitcase. Titta panics and immediately telephones his Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
contact, Pippo, who tells him to fly to Southern Italy that day to explain. But then Titta regains his composure, grabs his gun and switches off the power for the elevator, forcing the Mafia men to use the stairs as a getaway. This slows them down, and Titta is able to use the lift himself to get to the carpark ahead of them. He hides in his car, and kills the duo when they arrive.
Despite recovering the money, Titta decides to fly to Southern Italy anyway to explain himself. His reasons are initially unclear and he seems uncertain about following through his plans, partly because they will force him to miss his supper with Sofia. However, when Sofia fails to turn up, a despondent Titta, thinking that no-one loves him, leaves for the airport. Actually, Sofia does not turn up because she is involved in a car crash.
Arriving at destination, Titta is taken to a nearby hotel and, after waiting in a guestroom, is interrogated by a capo di tutti capi
Capo di tutti capi
Capo di tutti capi or capo dei capi is Italian for "boss of all bosses" or "boss of bosses". It is a phrase used mainly by the media, public and the law enforcement community to indicate a supremely powerful crime boss in the Sicilian or American Mafia who holds great influence over the whole...
. Titta explains that he has recovered the money but then says he does not want to give it back. At this point, the Mafia boss ominously tells a subordinate to transfer Titta's account to someone else before asking Titta to tell him where the money is. Titta again refuses. He is led away by guards and the next morning is taken to a building site. Here he is suspended from a crane above a container of fresh concrete, and told that unless he reveals the money's whereabouts, he will be drowned in the concrete. As he has already given the money to the elderly aristocrats in the hotel, he refuses.
The film ends with Titta being lowered into the concrete and thinking of his long-lost friend Dino, who works as an electrician in the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
.
Cast
- Toni ServilloToni ServilloToni Servillo; is an award-winning Italian television and film actor and director of theater, opera and film.-Personal life:Servillo was born in Afragola, Campania, the brother of musician Peppe Servillo...
- Titta di Girolamo - Olivia Magnani - Sofia
- Adriano GianniniAdriano GianniniAdriano Giannini is an Italian actor, son of Giancarlo Giannini. He co-starred in 2002 with Madonna in the widely-panned film Swept Away, a remake of a 1974 Italian film. Adriano played the same role that his father, Giancarlo Giannini, played in the original...
- Valerio - Antonio Ballerio - Bank manager
- Gianna Paola Scaffidi - Giulia
- Nino D'Agata - Mafioso
- Vincenzo Vitagliano - Pippo D'Antò (as Enzo Vitagliano)
- Diego Ribon - Director
- Gilberto Idonea - Hired assassin
- Giselda Volodi - Waitress
- Giovanni Vettorazzo - Letizia
- Gaetano Bruno - Hired Assassin
- Ana Valeria Dini - Reader
- Vittorio Di Prima - Nitto Lo Riccio
- Angela GoodwinAngela Goodwin-Selected filmography:* My Friends * The Passengers * Aurora * Julia and Julia * Alberto Express * The Consequences of Love -External links:...
- Isabella
Production
The film is noted for its extremely stylish cinematographyCinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
. The most memorable scene features Titta injecting himself with heroin and sees the camera flip 180 degrees as it follows Titta's falling head. Critics have also praised the film's tracking shots and the opening sequence, which depicts a bright white corridor.
Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack uses atmospheric electronicaElectronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
and postrock music, with songs from bands including Mogwai
Mogwai
The word mogwai is the transliteration of the Cantonese word 魔怪 meaning "monster", "evil spirit", "devil" or "demon".-Mogwai/Mogui in Chinese culture:...
, Lali Puna
Lali Puna
Lali Puna is an experimental electropop band from Weilheim, Germany . Founded in 1998 by Korea-born Valerie Trebeljahr , other members include Markus Acher , Christoph Brandner and Christian Heiß . The latter joined Lali Puna in 2003, after keyboard player Florian Zimmer had left the band...
, Boards of Canada
Boards of Canada
Boards of Canada are a Scottish electronic music duo consisting of brothers Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin...
and Terranova.