Giuseppe Tornatore's Italian thriller has been directed with style and flare. The framing of each shot is meticulous. The cinematography is stunning. The music is beautiful. The tension and mystery is captivating. Yet the final third of the screenplay is a contrived and manipulative maneuverer that weakens what was otherwise a strong film.
Irena (Kseniya Rappoport) is an Ukrenian prostitute on the run, working in the North of Italy as a cleaner/maid. She kills, yet she is sensitive and fixated with her boss's young daughter, Thea (in what is a fantastic child performance - enigmatic and entirely believable). Knowing very little about Irena's background, her motives and plans, things unfold slowly for the audience. Her character is textured through flashbacks, and this is very effective. For the most part, Irena is an interesting creation in the same vein of The Bride in Kill Bill, but something felt a miss for me as I walked away from The Unknown Woman. There was something just bland and blank about Irena...despite her many complexities and contradictions.
As we enter the final third, and questions become answered, the tension and mystery drains heavily. The film also begins to feel artificial. The interrogation scenes are overly written, in a self-conscious manner that exist purely to educate the viewer. Questions could have been answered in a far less contrived setting. It also feels rushed, as we are treated to such a slow build up. There is also a manipulative scene with an ill child that just felt at odds with what was otherwise quite an unsentimental film. It irritated me more than engaged.
I usually don't mind films that mix genres, but I felt a lack of satisfaction due to the fact this doesn't satisfy as a thriller, but didn't have the emotional satisfaction that it could have had if the film was pure drama. Despite these misgivings, La Sconosciuta is exceptionally well crafted for the most part and well worth a watch.
Irena (Kseniya Rappoport) is an Ukrenian prostitute on the run, working in the North of Italy as a cleaner/maid. She kills, yet she is sensitive and fixated with her boss's young daughter, Thea (in what is a fantastic child performance - enigmatic and entirely believable). Knowing very little about Irena's background, her motives and plans, things unfold slowly for the audience. Her character is textured through flashbacks, and this is very effective. For the most part, Irena is an interesting creation in the same vein of The Bride in Kill Bill, but something felt a miss for me as I walked away from The Unknown Woman. There was something just bland and blank about Irena...despite her many complexities and contradictions.
As we enter the final third, and questions become answered, the tension and mystery drains heavily. The film also begins to feel artificial. The interrogation scenes are overly written, in a self-conscious manner that exist purely to educate the viewer. Questions could have been answered in a far less contrived setting. It also feels rushed, as we are treated to such a slow build up. There is also a manipulative scene with an ill child that just felt at odds with what was otherwise quite an unsentimental film. It irritated me more than engaged.
I usually don't mind films that mix genres, but I felt a lack of satisfaction due to the fact this doesn't satisfy as a thriller, but didn't have the emotional satisfaction that it could have had if the film was pure drama. Despite these misgivings, La Sconosciuta is exceptionally well crafted for the most part and well worth a watch.