"La Grazia" (Sorrentino, 2025) - Review (82nd Venice International Film Festival)

“La Grazia is the beauty of doubt.”

Paolo Sorrentino delivers a timely, resonant film, anchored by Tony Servillo’s quietly commanding performance.

Written by Mariane Tremblay

I went into the screening completely blind. I had no idea what the plot was, and I’ll admit I was unfamiliar with Paolo Sorrentino’s filmmaking style. La Grazia may be his 11th feature, but it was my first encounter with his work. After hearing many criticisms of his previous film, Parthenope (2024), I was both hesitant and intrigued. Yet I left the theatre wanting to dive deeper into his filmography.

At its core, La Grazia explores moral dilemmas and the crushing weight of responsibility. The film follows the fictional President of the Italian Republic, Mariano De Santis (Tony Servillo), an elderly, widowed Catholic and former jurist. A man of strict principles, deep integrity, and unwavering respect for the rule of law, De Santis is constantly torn between what is “good” and what is “right.” With only six months left in his term, he faces defining decisions: Should he sign an euthanasia bill? Should he grant pardon to two people convicted of first-degree murder?

De Santis is portrayed as a sad, lonely, and conflicted man. His wife’s death still haunts him, having taken a secret to the grave that continues to trouble him—even forty years later. Through narration layered over images of De Santis smoking his single daily cigarette (arguably the only vice of this otherwise virtuous man) and underscored by a recurring techno beat, we learn that his wife died eight years prior, that he misses her profoundly, and that she did something unforgivable—something he still cannot move past. These moments stood out to me: they showed that no one is truly perfect while offering rare glimpses into his private life and inner struggles. Yet, despite these insights, De Santis remains a mystery—even to his own daughter Dorotea (Anna Ferzetti).

Dorotea, a jurist herself, works alongside her father—spending day and night drafting the euthanasia bill he seems reluctant to sign. If he signs, he risks being perceived as a murderer; if he doesn’t, as a torturer. So what is the “right” choice? And more importantly, how does a man with such immense power come to terms with the responsibility of deciding whether others should live or die? From time to time, Dorotea challenges her father’s beliefs. She sees him as someone who always plays it safe—never taking risks, never stepping outside the comfort of rules and rituals.

What makes La Grazia particularly compelling is the way Sorrentino contrasts the stiff, rule-bound world of politics with flashes of EDM and rap music that burst into the film like an intrusion from a restless younger generation. It’s more than just stylistic flair: it underlines the clash between tradition and change, but also reflects the inner conflict De Santis faces as he struggles between duty and instinct.

Unlike in many of his previous works, Sorrentino here chooses to portray a positive political figure (though a fictional one). It was refreshing to see a leader genuinely conflicted over matters of life and death—because let’s be honest, most of what we see in the news today is politicians debating the wrong things and wasting energy on “issues” that are already settled. As Sorrentino told Variety:

 “Every day in the news we read about decisions made by politicians that stem from impetuosity, show of force, and strange twisted ideas about how the economy works [...] Instead of this, I wanted to depict what a politician should be like.”

As a former law student, I found myself drawn to the film’s meditation on politics, law, and morality, and the difficulty of truly making things “right.” Once you step into the legal world, it stays with you—you start seeing the legal side of every situation before anything else. Whatever I do, I still feel that “professional conditioning” is shaping the way I look at things. And the film lingers on this tension: always following the rules, seeking truth, refusing to live with doubt—until the moment you allow yourself to listen to your gut and finally breathe lighter.

Still, the film is not without flaws. It drags at moments, and I occasionally found myself lost in the plot, wondering where Sorrentino intended to lead us. But despite its uneven pacing, La Grazia remains a thoughtful work that tackles weighty subjects with sincerity. Paolo Sorrentino delivers a timely, resonant film, anchored by Tony Servillo’s quietly commanding performance.

La Grazia had its world premiere as the opening film of the 82nd Venice Film Festival on August 27, with a later release through MUBI.