The Solitude of Prime Numbers (2010)

To put it unkindly, The Solitude of Prime Numbers is like a feature version of The Undatables. It's based around a boy and a girl who are drawn together through their common status of socially awkward outsiders, but who are so messed up that their encounters are painful and the chances of them actually ever getting together seem very slim.Mattea is super-intelligent but moody, withdrawn and uncommunicative with his parents and friends. As a young boy he was close to his mentally disabled sister Michela and looked after her, calming her during her 'episodes' As a young man, Michela is no longer there, and there is clearly an experience in their childhood to be revealed that that has marked Mattea and left their mark on him in the form of self-harming.Alice also has visible scars. She walks with a limp and is bullied by the other girls, who call her a gimp. One of the girls, Viola, becomes her friend however and encourages her to pursue her attraction to the sullen Mattea by inviting him to a party. Her family life however has also been troubled, with a pushy father and an unstable mother. Neither Mattea nor Alice fit in with the world around them and suffer at the hands and from the taunts of others, but it's nothing to the suffering and the pain that they inflict upon themselves over incidents in their childhood.In terms of storyline it's as straightforward as that, but the structure of the film split into different time zones for both Mattea and Alice does complicate matters. Or not so much complicate as attempt to create a non-linear impression of a fractured mindset. It's a fractured past however that nonetheless shares echoes and correspondences between them, between past and present, between two people each trapped in their own worlds and in their pasts.There are moments when you feel that some kind of escape or redemption might be within their grasp, where they might make a connection that could help them to face up to the past and escape from what the might become, but the traps of the mind keep preventing them from getting past the past. There are moments of melodrama and intensity, but good performances from Alba Rohrwacher and Luca Marinelli give a human face to the weight of torment that some people have to endure all their lives.

I haven't read book but was attracted by title. First 30 mins was good. Such promise. Sadly after that it was a complete waste of time. Rather than spend time writing a further review I can say Mendhak's review perfectly sums it up: "a jumble of time-lines and a storyline filled with teenage angst and pointless drama. It is also full of needlessly prolonged scenes that make no sense, but which you can feel the director congratulated himself over. Also, this movie has nothing to do with prime numbers. Prime numbers may have been mentioned in one or two sentences in the movie, but were never the focus. I wonder if there was a better reason in the book for using the words 'prime numbers'. " Don't waste your time on it...even the cinematography descended into rubbish after first 30 mins....

Mattia Balossino is a boy who lost his mentally problematic twin sister Michela in a park. Alice Della Rocca is a girl who suffered a ski accident. These two kids are shown in five moments of their lives, from the childhood to the adult life, always carrying the strain of their choices over the years.Mattia and Alice knew each other at school in their teens, and for some unknown reason developed a relation based on strangeness: the strange boy that doesn't talk too much and the strange limping girl; the strange bulimic girl and the strange boy who cuts himself.The story of the movie is not linear. It passes from 1984 until 2009, during different moments of the protagonist's lives. There are gaps that the movie doesn't make clear, and by reading the book you'll have the same difficulty to discover some things. The Solitude of Prime Numbers is an open and never-ending story. It could be about me, you, and anyone.Why the "Prime Numbers"? Because a prime number is only divisible by itself and by 1. These numbers are faded to be alone, forever, like Mattia and Alice. Besides, Paolo Giordano, the author of the book, is a particle physicist with a PhD at the University of Turin, Italy.The great book story was adapted to the big screen by its own author, Paolo Giordano. Some say that the book was better and there are points of the story that changed... all those things that people say when they like the book better than the movie. Don't let them confuse you: The Solitude of Prime Numbers is a good movie in what it intends to be.The soundtrack is as disturbing as his creator, Mike Patton, the leader of Faith No More. Alba Rohrwacher is an amazing actress and won a fair prize for her role of adult Alice. Young Mattia is also well played by Vittorio Lomartire.

An enigmatic film by Saverio Costanzo was shown recently on a cable channel. The adaptation of a novel by Paolo Giordano, comes to the screen in this story that is told in three different times and covers events in the lives of Alice and Mattia, two wounded souls who destiny brings together in surprising and mysterious ways. Starting in childhood, Mattia and his twin sister Michela, who suffers from an unknown disease that has rendered totally dependent on her parents, and ultimately, his sibling make an odd pair. He is healthy, while she is obviously handicapped. Alice, on the other hand, seems to come from a happier background, but after an accident which has left her with a noticeable limp, she retreated to a world of her own.In high school, both Mattia and Alice's path convene under strange circumstances. Alice an introvert soul, is bullied by her peers. She is the butt for all the cool girls jokes and derision. Mattia, who begins attending Alice's school, is in his own world, not mixing with the other boys. A cruel classmate, Viola, realizes Alice is in love with Mattia. Feigning to like the girl, Viola has a surprise in store as she humiliates Alice during her birthday party. Alice's confidence is shattered, and Mattia is unable to be of help.As years pass, Alice, now a photographer, lures Mattia into accompanying her to Viola's wedding. Mattia and Alice repair to an empty space, avoiding the celebration, where she starts caressing the man she has been in love for so long. As fate has it, Mattia goes to follow his studies to Germany, while Alice by now married and separated seeks information about him with his mother. Mattia, concerned about Alice's welfare, returns for a visit, but he is too horrified to find an unknown Alice, who is clearly in a state of despair about the turn her life has taken. Is it too late for these lovers?Saverio Costanzo directed as well as collaborated with Mr. Giordano in the adaptation of the text to the screen treatment of the material. The message seems to refer as how the prime numbers relate to these two strange lives that crave to be together, but cannot find happiness in any way they can connect. The staging of the story relies in the use of fog and rain in the key scenes of the film. The story starts slowly, as the viewer feels disoriented, as well as disconnected from the story, but to his credit, Mr. Costanzo, pulls us into the drama of lives wasted and opportunities that escape these souls that have so much to give one another, but never connect, like the prime numbers.An excellent Alba Rohrwacher keeps giving amazing portrayals in whatever project she graces with her presence. She is an amazing actress who always surprises with her innate intelligence. Equally surprising is the work of Martina Albano, seen as the young Alice. She makes an impression in this film and no doubt she will continue to go to showcase her talent. We enjoyed Vittorio Lomartire as the young Mattia. Luca Marinelli, playing the older Mattia does not have much to do. Isabella Rossellini appears as Mattia's mother in a small, but pivotal role. Aurora Ruffino is perfect as Viola.The production gets a fabulous look thanks to Fabio Ciancetti camera work. Mike Patton's musical score feels right for all the different eras in the story and the editing of Francesca Calvelli serves the film well. Saverio Costanzo is a talented filmmaker whose work merits a view by fans of the Italian cinema.