Fantasy melodrama “The First Day of My Life” by Paolo Genovese. Review

The fantasy melodrama “The First Day of My Life” by Paolo Genovese is being released in Russia. This adaptation of my own novel turned out, in my opinion, Yulia Shagelman, the most mature work of the Italian director.

In Russia and beyond, Paolo Genovese is best known as the director of the dramedy Perfect Strangers (2015). This story about a group of friends, spouses and lovers who decided for one evening to reveal to each other all the secrets stored in their mobile phones, which led to devastating consequences, not only received two major Italian film awards “David di Donatello” and collected a decent box office. It also attracted filmmakers from many countries, so that the film had as many as eighteen remakes (including the Russian “Speaker Call”, 2018), thanks to which it even got into the Guinness Book of Records. The subsequent conversational thriller “The Meeting Place” (2017) and the melodrama “Superheroes” (2021) were no longer such a resounding success either at home or at international box office, although “The First Day of My Life” was supposed to be filmed in the USA in English language – the pandemic prevented this. And probably for the better: the non-touristy, dirty, rainy winter Rome gives the film an authentic charm.

All of these Genovese paintings are united by a common approach, which he repeats in “The First Day…”. The director talks about topics that concern everyone in one way or another – love, death, relationships between men and women, parents and children – but to transfer them to the screen he uses a conceptual technique that takes characters and events out of reality and transfers them to some kind of speculative abstraction. In “Perfect Strangers” it was a game of truth with mobile phones, which in the end turned out to be a game of imagination; in “The Meeting Place” – a meeting with a mysterious stranger who can fulfill your innermost desires; Even in the most simply arranged “Superheroes”, Genovese could not deny himself tricks with time lines. In “The First Day…” four characters find themselves in a conditional intermediate state between life and death, and staying in this limbo should help them make the most important decision.

On a rainy January night, Arianna (Margherita Bui), Napoleone (Genovese regular Valerio Mastandrea) and Emilia (Sara Serrayoco) meet a nameless man (Tony Servillo) who brings them to a small hotel where they will spend seven days. The next morning, twelve-year-old Daniele (Gabriele Cristini) joins them. All four are united by the fact that they tried to commit suicide – three adults succeeded, and the boy, who chose the most unusual method (being a diabetic, he ate forty donuts), ended up in a coma. The hero, Tony Servillo, is something like a guardian angel, offering them a deal: take an extra week to think about this step. At the end of it, he will return them to the moment before the fatal shot/jump from the bridge/step from the roof/piece of sweet dough, and if his work during the week turns out to be effective, then they will choose to move on with their lives.

The angel’s methods bring to mind Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life (1947) or Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. He shows his charges how life goes on without them, gives them the opportunity to look into the future, see their loved ones in a new way, shocks them by bringing them to their own funeral, reminds them of small joys like a sunny day on the beach or pasta with a vongole, even cheats a little, pushing him to make new acquaintances, although according to the terms of the task his protégés must remain invisible.

The reasons why these people decided to commit suicide are gradually revealed. Police officer Arianna mourns her daughter, who died two years ago. Former gymnast Emilia ended up in a wheelchair after an injury, but it’s not even this that torments her, but the fact that she was always second. Daniele, whom his father (Antonio Gerardi) decided to turn into a YouTube star, was bullied at school, and his parents did not understand at all that he did not want any Internet fame. The conductor has the most difficult time with Napoleone, because in his life he worked as a motivational speaker, so he sees right through all the techniques for “changing perspective.” He is the only one who seems to have no clear reason to strive for death – he is successful, wealthy, married to a beloved and loving woman (Elena Lietti), but despite this and contrary to his own doctrines, he is tormented by persistent deep depression. His salvation becomes almost a personal challenge for the “angel”, who also seems to carry hidden pain within himself.

“The First Day…” is not without shortcomings that are characteristic of other Genovese paintings: in places it is too superficial and not all the characters here are developed in detail (for example, Father Daniele is just a caricature of the evil Karabas-Barabas). However, in this film, sentimentality is balanced by unforced melancholy, sometimes straightforward dialogues are saved by an excellent cast, and when considering sensitive topics, the director manages to avoid both false optimism and a feeling of total hopelessness.