![]() ![]() It's the story of Benedetta Carlini (Virginie Efira), the daughter of a wealthy merchant. But that title and subtitle don't do the scale of the story justice. ![]() Five stars for the 'timely' Summer of SoulĬo-written by Verhoeven and David Birke, the film is adapted from a book by Judith C Brown, Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy. Adam Driver shines in a bizarre rock opera The nudity and the blood-splashing are just a bonus. It's a thoughtful examination of politics and organised religion, and a searing exploration of faith. Benedetta, for much of its running time, is a restrained, handsome, and even traditional period drama, a stately parade of elegant costumes and beautifully candle-lit stone buildings, set to a dignified orchestral score by Anne Dudley. Women's breasts are grabbed, men's chests are stabbed, and if you don't approve of visions of a horse-riding, sword-swishing Jesus, look away now.īut Verhoeven's new French film, his first since he made a comeback with Elle in 2016, is a reminder that he is a lot more than a gleeful purveyor of sex and violence. And, yes, there are scenes in Benedetta that could have come from a faux trailer lampooning Verhoeven's most notorious predilections. A torrid melodrama about two gorgeous nuns having an affair in a 17th-Century convent – as directed and co-written by Paul Verhoeven, the maker of Basic Instinct and Showgirls? It sounds like the kind of ridiculous fake film that might crop up in a broad Hollywood satire. ![]()
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