Relentlessly bullied at school, Rocco (Andrea Amato) is forced to come out to his parents after an incident in the school bathroom led to a boy jumping out of a window. Initially Rocco tries to distance himself from the incident but when it becomes impossible, he decides to come out to his open-minded but divorced parents. The reaction isnāt quite what he hoped for and his mother Olga (Veronica Pivetti) tries to get her ex-husband, who is a famous psychiatrist (Corrado Invernizzi), to counsel their son.
Deciding that he needs to get away from it all, Rocco ropes in his friends Maria (Carolina Pavone) and Mauri (Francesco De Miranda) to run away with him so they can see their favourite singer, who has recently been outed and is embarking on his last ever tour, in concert. Olga pursues her son with her fascist mother Amanda (Pia Engleberth).
A Little Lust is part drama, part comedy and sometimes it isnāt sure which genre to comfortably settle in. Roccoās revelation to his parents sets you up to expect a heart-wrenching drama but thatās not what unfolds. The film mixes its emotive subject matter with plenty of comedy, especially when it follows Olga and Amanda searching for Rocco.
One of the things that is quite refreshing about the film is that Roccoās coming out, while a big deal for the youngster, isnāt surrounded by the clichĆ©d melodrama you get in many films. I donāt mean to lessen the experience of many people; itās just nice to see that coming out doesnāt always have to be depicted with weeping, arguments and conflict. Roccoās parents, despite being open-minded, donāt welcome the news with open arms but they quickly realise that he is their son no matter what.
Veronica Pivetti pulls double duty as Olga and as director of the movie. For the most part her work in both roles is solid but the unevenness of the tone in places could have been rectified with slightly tighter direction. Andrea Amato is engaging as Rocco and Pia Engleberth is a scene-stealer with the most outrageous and hilarious lines of dialogue.
A Little Lust definitely has a bit of an identity crisis but itās a sweet movie that offers something new about coming out. It has plenty of laughs and there are solid performances from the entire cast. With a little tighter direction and more even tone, the film would have been even better than it is but as it stands itās an amusing watch thatās worthy of your time.
[brid video=”131050″ player=”531″ title=”A Little Lust Official Trailer TLA Releasing”]
Cast: Andrea Amato, Pia Engleberth, Corrado Invernizzi, Veronica Pivetti, Carolina Pavone, Fracesco De Miranda Director: Veronica Pivetti Writer: Giovanna Gra Certificate: 15 Duration: 104 mins Released By: TLA Releasing Release Date: 13th March 2017