The Hand of God

Paulo Sorrentino used to be the poster child of stylish, contemporary Italian cinema, but those times are long gone. He has aged visibly through his films, and with this latest (The Hand of God), a semi-autobiography about his teenage years, I think he's finally gone full old man.

Fabietto, a young guy growing up in Naples during the 80s, has trouble finding his calling in life. He can't seem to land a girlfriend, his family is certified crazy, and he has no clue what to do with his life. The only thing that inspires him is the town's love for football, certainly when they hear Maradona is coming to play for their home team.

The cinematography is decent, but not as exuberant as I'd hoped, the characters are somewhat funny, but also a little irritating, and once the drama takes hold of the film it becomes a bit sluggish. Probably because Sorrentino doesn't have much interesting to tell. Still better than many others in the genre, but Sorrentino is capable of more.