Reality Review

Reality
Toiling fishmonger Luciano (Aniello Arena) dreams of celebrity and riches. When a reality TV show rolls into town, he has the chance to realise his ambitions, but at what cost?

by Simon Crook |
Published on
Release Date:

22 Mar 2013

Running Time:

116 minutes

Certificate:

15

Original Title:

Reality

Luciano the fishmonger dreams of fame. So when Italian Big Brother hits town, he gurns for the auditions and waits for the call. It never comes. Luciano, however, is convinced the cameras are already on him and slowly mutates into the town’s resident saint, feeding the needy and his own deluded ego. If Matteo Garrone’s Mob drama Gomorrah was his Pasolini, this follow-up, you guess, is his Fellini: a farcical showbiz parable rich in religious symbolism and sly digs at the false god of fame. Aniello Arena leads the cast with gormless gusto, but offered the chance of biting satire, Garrone blows raspberries instead. Frivolous but likable.

As a satire on the seduction by media and our infatuation with celebrity, it's hardly The Truman Show, but Garrone’s Gomorrah follow-up is wry and witty. Plenty of fun.
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