| Director | Cinzia TH Torrini |
| Cast | Letizia Toni, Selena Caramazza, Maurizio Lombardi, Stefano Rossi Giordani, Andrea Delogu, Lorenzo Aloi, Ralph Palka, Noemi Brando, Teresa Tanini, Max Pisu |
| Runtime | 112 minutes |
| Based On | Cazzi miei by Gianna Nannini |
| Original Title | Sei nell’anima |
| Genre | Biography |
| Platform | Netflix |
In this biography, we follow Italian singer Gianna Nannini’s journey from her rich upbringing to her days of intense struggle before making it big as a musician. The story puts forward the different timelines in the singer’s life that made a big impact on her and her music.
A musical biography that is coming out right after the splendid Amar Singh Chamkeela, Beautiful Rebel, following the life and works of celebrated Italian singer Gianna Nannini feels like a surface-level exploration of the singer’s life told in an expeditious manner. The movie, although focusing on some interesting aspects of the singer’s life and the various elements that shaped who she is as a person, doesn’t go in-depth into the various situations and feels like a superficial retelling without much character or depth.
The point of musical biographies, I think, is that the audience needs to feel what the artist was feeling while singing the songs. That connection is what differentiates a good biography from a mediocre one and this Italian film misses out on that feeling by a whole lot. The movie rushes through the various points of Gianna’s life in a matter-of-fact way, missing out on the heart and soul of the artist and what she defined. We don’t connect with her because the storytelling doesn’t bring that feeling to the screen. Thus, when a music producer promptly starts crying in the midst of listening to Death by Self-Inflicted Abortion, it feels performative and insincere because that feeling simply doesn’t translate well.
I also feel like the film is a little too fast for its own good – the break-neck pacing is disconcerting and feels very odd. You can’t mull anything over and by the time you come to terms with something, ten other things have already happened that you need to account for. The pacing is what really did it for me – it’s impossible to appreciate or understand Nannini at this rate and the complexities of her character get lost because it doesn’t try to take its time with its storytelling.
It’s also odd that we don’t get into Nannini as a person all too much. Yes, we see her music and her inspiration and all that, but we interestingly don’t get into her as a person and why she started singing in the first place. A quick Google search will give you more depth into her as a person that this film misses out on which is a shame.
But, credit where credit is due, Letizia Toni is just so cool as Gianna Nannini that it is difficult not to keep watching the film. In spite of its lack of depth, Toni brings a rawness to her character that is inspiring, thrilling and the epitome of coolness. Of course, the credit also goes to Nannini himself, a true blue rockstar who bent over for no one or nothing.
Beautiful Rebel Review: Final Thoughts
This is not the worst biography out there but there are moments in this film that really go away from us because of its pacing and editing that doesn’t give us any time to mull over the story or the music. Although the character is nothing short of cool and extremely inspirational, we miss out on understanding her because the film doesn’t focus on those things enough.
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