Alternate Best Actor 2013: Toni Servillo in The Great Beauty

Toni Servillo did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Jep Gambardella in The Great Beauty.

The Great Beauty follows a writer as he explores a life of decadence and art in Italy.

If that plot synopsis sounds similar then you're probably thinking of Fellini's La Dolce Vita. This is not a hidden quality as Paolo Sorrentino wears his influences on his sleeve to the point that Toni Servillo's character of Jep Gambaredella seems a bit of amalgamation of Marcello's Mastroanni's Guido Anselmi and Marcello Rubini from 8 1/2 and "Vita" respectively. This is as he shares the same basic appearance of Guido, particularly down to his iconic pair of corrective lenses and is a writer examining those on most high like Marcello. One major difference is the age of the character who is a bit older than either, though you might say is an approximate to Marcello by the end of that film. The man is again that of the observer, fitting to a film with a particularly blunt directorial edge, who is seeking for some "great beauty" as he grows older, and must deal with the hollowness of the life of the decadence. Again, not at all far from the struggle Marcello faces in "Vita", and much like Mastroanni's work in that film, Servillo's performance is a passive one. A performance with a particular intention though nonetheless as his work must create the meaning to a film that is claimed to be about nothing, and is essentially stated to be as such in its final moments.

I had my concerns regarding this film already given my lack of affection for Sorrentino's later effort about an observant elderly man in the lap of luxury in Youth, and the fact that I was not too impressed by Servillo's minimalist performance in Il Divo, as a tight lipped and very careful politician. This performance actually isn't nearly as purposefully repressed at that work, though certainly still low key as leading turns typically go. Well on one hand, I preferred this film to Youth, though much of Sorrentino's directorial touches still distracted rather than amplified the drama for me, and I certainly did not think it was the masterpiece the film is clearly aspiring to be. On the other hand I did actually rather like this performance from Servillo and he essentially realized what I did like about the film. This is as his work essentially offers the soul to the piece that otherwise would be as hollow as the world it is critiquing. Servillo's work is a much needed anchor for the entire experience of the film as he is this constant that offers essentially the humanity to the film, that is not always foreseen within Sorrentino's choices of sweeping shots, rapid editing, randomness of perspective and glossy aesthetic.

Servillo's portrayal of Jep manages to be captivating in creating the sense of the experience through his performance, which is quite often a series of reaction shots. Servillo's work though doesn't waste this idea, nor does it honestly seem constricted by them, as it essential in creating the man's existence and his way of navigating his world. This is as in the state of observing one outrageous if not grotesque piece of art, Servillo's piercing eyes offer his own critique merely in them rather than in a befuddled glance or light deprecating chuckle. Servillo's work offers the expertise essentially of the man who looks not only with the sense of a critic, but also this idea of the exasperation. There is the light touches of an exhaustion within his way of maneuvering within these sequences, of a man just slowly walking around struggling to keep up the act fully. Servillo manages to find the right state of not an overt ennui, but rather this need for a genuine curiosity. Servillo manages to broach this sense of it though within the confines of the man still stuck in the state of near lethargy as lead by a career that hasn't lead him to any great meaning. This creating a certain low key struggle that Servillo realizes effectively without falling into any type of hollow posturing.

As seems a requirement of  a Sorrentino film, there must be a moment where his visual storytelling takes a break for some monologue, usually critical of someone or something. Well that does appear here in essentially Servillo's Jep tears down one of his fellow bourgeoisie speaking with some great affection for her own self. Servillo's work is essential in his work as he does manage to make it natural moment as a lashing out that is concise and confident, fitting for a critic, but with this certain internalized anxiety as he accentuates the speech as much of a critical appraisal of his own experience as much as it is hers. This in addition is nicely, subverted a bit later on when he interacts with her again with a near repentant flirtation which Servillo manages to infuses a real charm within in his own unassuming way. The center of his work though is that seeking some truth whether it be examining the past, the present or even the future in a way. In this, is where Servillo finds the real power within his work, as his moments of melancholic reflection on youth, the loss of his real friends, or in his moments of finally finding a real beauty in his existence and art, capture a real poignancy. Servillo loses any hollowness or exasperation, being genuinely moving at times in creating the deeper sense of reflection and the haunting feelings of the truly meaningful moments one can find in life. Although I will admit the film did not in itself create a meaningful experience for myself, I cannot fault Servillo's work that managed to carry me through it all, and at least leave something of value within all of vapid extravagance.