Diciannove (Nineteen, 2024) ‘MAMI’ Movie Review: A Brash, Exhilarating Snapshot of Youthful Imprudence

The 19-year-old protagonist of Giovanni Tortorici’s “Diciannove” (Nineteen, 2024), Leonardo Gravina, reminded me quite a lot of myself from that age. He has next-to-none self-awareness and a bloated self-esteem. Just out of his adolescence and technically an adult, he considers the world his oyster. Much like Julie from “The Worst Person in the World,” he tries different modes of education as if they are tempting dishes on a restaurant menu! Of course, he has no baggage of responsibilities weighing on his shoulders. He can be who he wants, at least he feels like he can.

In Tortorici’s loosely autobiographical film, co-produced by Luca Guadagnino, he looks inward into the chaotic journey he went through to find a sense of mental stability and experience growth. In his film, we meet Leonardo, leaving his hometown of Palermo and stepping into London to study economics. He resides with his older sister and her friend. Unlike home, life in London is bright and flashy. He gets attracted to the hedonistic lifestyle, owing to his age and the ‘bird out of its cage’ scenario. While getting pulled into this intoxicating world, he feels a pushback from his internal voices.

On a whim, Leonardo decides to move to Siena to study literature because it happens to be the best place to do so according to some online survey. So, it’s a far too relatable and close-to-life portrait of the generations that grew up in this millennia. His impulsive decision leads him to a quieter, less friendly, and less livelier part of Italy. It forces him to introspect, to analyze whether he truly is passionate about the things he once thought he was. It’s a story of any creative mind/soul who ends up choosing their passion as a part of their education. It shatters his prior expectations of devoting his life to literature and philosophy.

As a young adult, Leonardo craves validation but rarely finds it. He faces conflicts at the university while living by himself in a place that does not radiate warmth or provide comfort. Loneliness, frustration, or forced seclusion. You name it, he experiences it. So, once again, he drops out to study something else that makes him feel creatively fulfilled and accepted. It’s a quintessential 19-year-old’s experience, aptly reflected through Manfredi Marini’s riveting central performance. Marini internalizes Leonardo’s pain and anger about the state of his life and lets it reflect through his micro-aggressions.

Diciannove (Nineteen, 2024) ‘MAMI’ Movie Review — A still from “Diciannove” (“Nineteen,” 2024)

In his feature film acting debut, Marini presents a fascinating mix of Leonardo’s smug self-reverence and repressed emotions. He reveals far more of Leonardo’s psyche through the minute changes in his demeanor. With a script that reads similar to prior coming-of-age dramas, he does much of the heavy lifting and communicates far more through something as simple as an awkward smile or forced laughter. Through the course of the film, Leonardo oscillates between a slouchy sluggishness and bouts of sudden energy. They reflect different stages in roughly a span of a year or so of his life. Thanks to Marini’s performance, you can almost smell the scent of Leonardo’s dry, soulless room in Siena and the newness of different settings by how Marini perceives them.

At times, Tortorici uses some directorial tricks to get his message across. He uses text frames, like those in 20th-century European films, to reveal how Leonardo processes events from his life. Be it hyper-stylized slow-motion shots or the consciously disorienting editing, Tortorici makes their presence felt. He is driven by the same kinetic spirit that young filmmakers from past eras of revered film waves. Sometimes, the flashiness of his techniques interrupts the flow of his narration. However, the film doesn’t seem much concerned about it.

As said before, “Diciannove” comes across as a snapshot of a significant part of Tortorici’s life. So, it feels incredibly personal and offers a stimulating account of his own messy journey of self-discovery. It sheds light on the generational divide that has been shortening in recent years. Yet, in the end, the film feels awkward and incomplete. On one hand, it feels characteristic of its protagonist while on the other, it leaves you wanting more.