Adagio (2023) tells a familiar story – dirty cops on the prowl, trying to tie up the loose ends that could prove knotty for them. It’s the showing involved in the telling that makes Stefano Sollima’s crime drama distinctive. The visually breath-taking film grabs us from the first scene – an aerial shot of Rome with fires raging in the distance.
Paolo Carnera’s cameras zoom into the home of a teenager who is about to get embroiled in a racket beyond his understanding. Asked to infiltrate a gay party with a hidden camera, Manuel panics and flees. In hot pursuit is Vasco, a corrupt police officer who is operating on behalf of a politician.
Manuel seeks shelter with his Mafioso father’s former associate Polniuman. Although reluctant to help, Polniuman is nevertheless sucked into a game that drags in Manuel’s elderly father Daytona too. The Italian movie, which is available on Netflix, is set over the course of 24 hours.
Like the gradually unfolding musical passage after which it is named, Adagio proceeds at leisure. The slow-burning approach allows for deep characterisations, layered performances, and escalating suspense. Rome is revealed as a precarious place, its architectural beauty barely concealing betrayal, violence and moral bankruptcy.
Adagio ’s director Stefano Sollima has an illustrious career in cinema and television. With the TV series Gomorrah and ZeroZeroZero under his belt, he has a reputation for slickly produced and deftly performed projects. Soll.