The Dinner

Thursday 16^th October, 12pm – Vue West End

Friday 17^th October 2.35pm – Curzon Mayfair

The Dinner is a passion-filled Italian drama, of which it is far from lacking. It focuses solely on the domestic, depicting the difficulties and conflicting duties of a parent when faced with troubled children, tensions between sibling blood ties and the bitter scorn between in-law, non-blood ties. Civilities are passed and played with in order to maintain a polite, working society, until danger threatens the family and then the protective animal instinct is shown to overcome the rational.

The turning point in this film offers a natural and more or less realistic reaction to threats on the family life. This film abides by no Hollywood laws of straight-cut good guy/bad guy. The realism of this Italian cinema is revealed in the noticeable lack of airbrushing in the actors. They look real and they act real, good and bad traits fluctuate throughout and the audience is in uncertain ground when deciding which characters to like or dislike at any given time.

This film especially reveals how a dramatic incident can change a character drastically. It also shows, continuing the realism, the dinner motif is perfectly domestic and yet is flexible, much like real life, and allows for the tension’s gradual escalation. Though the families when at home rarely eat together, this sets the scene of a modern family life. The restaurant scenes, however, act beautifully as parallels to each other, enabling the multiplied tension to be inescapable. For the audience to feel the tension between these two families is a great cinematic technique, as the characters become more worried and desperate about their situation and their moral dilemma they are struggling with. A film must always capture the audience in some way, and this film captures us exquisitely with realism.      

Cassia Morrice

The Dinner release date is yet to be announced.

For further information about the BFI London Film Festival visit here.

Read more reviews from the festival here.