SLIFF 2015 Review: THE DINNER

THE DINNER poses an interesting question, several actually. And I’m not talking about whether to go with red or white wine, wise-acres. It’s an exploration of families, of the dynamic of two adult brothers, their wives and children. Established roles are reversed and secrets are shared as old clashes rise to the surface. The film also gives us two moral options and asks on which (or whose) side would you go. It gives us a lot to mull over as the desert cart wheels toward the table.

The title refers not to a big family feast, but rather an intimate weekly dinner for two couples, the brothers and their wives, in an upscale restaurant in Rome. At least one half of the table never looks forward to this “obligation”. That would be brother Paolo (Luigi Lo Cascio), a busy surgeon who shares a big apartment with his wife Clara (Giovanna Mezzogiorno) and their teenage son, the quiet Michele (Jacopo Olmo Antinori). The dinner tab is usually picked up by brother Massismo (Alessandro Gassman), a high-priced defense lawyer who shares a plush townhouse with second wife Sofia (Barbora Bobulova), their new baby, and his teenage daughter Benedetta (Rosabell Laurenti Sellers). The film opens with a brutal, horrific “road rage” incident. Paulo is treating the young survivor/witness to said incident while Massismo has been hired by the man brought up on charges in the case. This adds to the tension add the weekly dinner (Paolo views his sibling as an immoral sell-out), not helped by the animosity between the two women. At least their kids get along. Michele and Benedetta share a love of violent viral videos. She even invites him to come along to a big party thrown by one of her schools (the parents are out-of-town, natch’). The next morning a change has come over Michele. Paolo is perplexed until he takes a look at his wife’s favorite true crime TV show. Rome is outraged over the savage beating of a street person. The act was caught on grainy, black and white surveillance cameras. The two attackers…no…could they be….? And what is to be done?

Director co-writer Ivano de Matteo has fashioned a compelling modern morality play along with co-writer Valentina Ferlan (adapting the Herman Koch novel). What are the parents’ responsibility? To the children or to justice? The moral stance of the two brothers seem to be fairly set in the film’s initial scenes, but this fateful night upends them, almost to the point of switching personas. The four main actors deliver energetic performances, especially in the film’s last act, all set at a restaurant tabel as they prod, plea, and agonize over life and death decisions. THE DINNER is one film feast that will satisfy the most discerning dramatic palettes.

THE DINNER screens at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinemas on Friday, November 13 at 9:10 PM and on Saturday, November 14 at 4:45 PM as part of the 24th Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival. Purchase tickets here and here