121. Three Floors (Tre piani); movie review

 

THREE FLOORS (TRE PIANI)

Cert 18

120 mins

BBFC advice: Contains child sex abuse

A woman in labour stands desperately waiting for a taxi when a car speeds around the corner, knocks a pedestrian into the air and then smashes into the ground floor of an upmarket apartment block.

The car comes to rest, feet from a young girl staring speechless at the bloodied driver who is also her young neighbour.

The opening of Nanni Moretti's Three Floors is jaw-dropping. Unfortunately, although it is intriguing and interesting, it never hits such a high again.

The pregnant woman (Alba Rohrwacher), drunken driver (Alessandro Sperduti) and young girl (Chiara Abalsamo) are members of three of the four families whose travails come under the microscope during the movie.

There is also a kindly elderly couple (Anna Bonaiuto and Paolo Graziosi) who face having to deal with the husband's progressive dementia.

This proves difficult for their busy neighbours (Riccardo Scamarcio and Elena Lietti) who rely on them as babysitters.

Meanwhile, the drunken driver's parents ((Moretti and Margherita Buy) have the moral conundrum of being court judges and hoping their son is going to avoid heavy sentence for his reckless crash.

Theirs is the most compelling story of those which emerge from the apartment block. Any parent would pray that their beloved child doesn't turn our like theirs.

In many ways, Three Floors is alluring and intriguing but it does move from scene to scene too quickly and jerkiness is heightened when it shifts on by five years, twice.

However, it is packed with moral dilemmas and is different and dramatic enough to receive the endorsement of both Mrs W and me.

Reasons to watch: Alluring and intriguing

Reasons to avoid: A tad too slow

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: Yes

Overall rating: 7/10

Did you know? The cost of living in Italy compared to the UK is generally cheaper. While groceries and food are slightly cheaper in the UK, the general cost of living including rent is 10.35% higher in the UK, according to Numbeo. However, in 2021, the average monthly net salary in Italy in 2021 was £1,223,27 (1,429.64€), compared to an average salary in the United Kingdom of £1,950.59 (2,279.66€).

The final word. Nanni Moretti: "We looked in several Roman neighbourhoods, I made different trips there. I didn’t have a specific idea before. The building is clearly one of the characters in the film. It acts like a theatre stage or like an empty shoebox that had to be completely filled. The four apartments we see, we all invented them. And before, the building we chose served as a school." Archyde

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