Diamnti (Diamonds)
Cast: Luisa Ranieri, Jasmine Trinica, Vanessa Scalera
Writers: Elisa Casseri, Carlotta Corradi, Ferzan Ozpetek
Director: Ferzan Ozpetek
*** and a 1/2 *'s out of Five
When it comes to fashion I am an absolute dud in that area. Take a look inside my closet and you will see four pairs of jeans(all plack) and a wide assortment of movie and tv related shirts. I only own two nice suits in brown and black and while my own taste is indeed daft. I am in awe whenever I see a truly spellbinding costume in a movie and I imagine just how much effort in time it went in to create something that will forever be immortalized on the screen.
What really surprised me is that when the movie begins. We are introuduced to the director(Ferzan Ozpetek) and the cast sitting around this beautiful elegant table reading the script for an upcoming movie about the power of women featuring an all women cast called Diamonds. Although one does mention Vaginadrome as an alternate title and does have a nice ring to it. While they are reading we hear the voices of the characters as we are transported to a fashion house in the 70's that is getting ready to get the clothing ready for a big movie in pre production. Alberta (Luisa Raineri) and her sister Gabriella(Jasmine Trinica) are the owners and they really need for this to be a hit for their buisness.
We are introduced to the other women in the shop including one who doesn't quite know how to handle her son's depression, another one who is dealing with an abusive husband, a women with a neice on the run from the law and much more. As the story unfolds each of these women's individual plots will unfold in typical ways one might see in a soap opera. Which may sound like a complaint but it's not.
Having the movie cut back from the fictional setting at the fashion house to the actors of modern time reading the script. It gets you to be enfgulfed in the magic of storytelling. The whole premise of a bunch of women making costumes for a film does little to interest me but I do find myself becoming intangled in each of thier characters plots Sometimes it can be a bit over dramatic but hey. That's kind of what I love best about Italian cinema. I want that brash and loud theatrics that I don't get in a lot of movies made in the U S of A.
With this being about the fashion of movies. The costume designs by Steffano Ciammitti as really something amazing especially when you see the final dress that they are all working on. This may do for fashion what Luca Guadagino's I Am Love did for food . The score by Carmello Travia and Giulano Taviani has a nice melody throughout it's run time and is used to envoke emotions in great ways when used in certain scenes. It becomes a little state when it adds vocals during the end credits for me.
Diamonds is a movie that is not going to be for my demographic. It's not one that I will go and seek out personally. That is not at all a dis on the film because it does feature a good cast of actors and the story is well told. I just wan't fully vibing with it. It has many moments that I love including small moments of the ladies singing that was a lot of fun. But sometimes a conflict would begin and it would be resolved almost immediatley.
You can tell that a lot of love went into this movie and I will praise the work that went into the making of this because everyone involved does a great job. Even if I ended up only liking it but not fully loving it. I still respect it.
I'm a proud member of the Minnesota Film Critics Association. Read my bio below.
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