With Paolo Sorrentino's meticulous direction matching the dapper routine of fiftysomething Toni Servillo's hermitic existence, this is a stylish exercise in cinematic precision that's made all the more compelling by the drizzle of details which let us in on the seemingly harmless ex-stockbroker's secrets.
This is possibly the most sedate crime movie ever made, as Servillo occupies his time between visits to the bank with nightly card games, weekly heroin fixes and a lingering crush on barmaid Olivia Magnani.
Only gradually do we learn of his brush with the Cosa Nostra and his willingness to risk further punishment to help Magnani. The photography is sublime, but it's Servillo's mournful underplaying that truly illuminates the screen.