Made in 1961, ‘La notte‘ is the second film in a trilogy that marked the change of direction and the consolidation of Michelangelo Antonioni‘s cinematic style. At the time, the film divided both the audiences and the film critics. The box office was reasonable but not in proportion to the cast that brought together two superstars (Marcello Mastroianni and Jeanne Moreau) and one in the making (Monica Vitti). It won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and several important Italian awards, but at the Academy Awards it did not even manage to be nominated among the top five foreign films. The critics and the North American audiences, but also part of the European ones, were not prepared for a slow-paced film, in which nothing spectacular happened and which focused on what the characters felt and thought. In fact, a lot happens in this film, but the cinematic language that exposes them was new and had to be learned. Even today, ‘La notte‘ risks confusing or boring impatient viewers.
The film begins with a slow descent of the camera down the facade of a modern concrete and glass building. It is a frame that defines the pace of the film’s story and its setting – the urban jungle that has almost completely covered nature in the city of Milan, rebuilt from ruins and turned into a metropolis in the early 1960s. When nature still exists somewhere in this film, it will be domesticated – golf courses and lavish parks near the villas of the rich. The heroes of the film are Giovanni and Lidia Pontano. He is a famous writer who has just published a new book. She is a bored wife. Is there still love between them? That is one of the questions that the film asks and it remains unanswered even after the end. The place where they met and where they probably loved each other will also soon disappear, covered with concrete and asphalt. Lidia probably had in her past a man who loved and appreciated her for what she was worth and not for her money, but he is dying on a hospital bed. Giovanni seems to be constantly surrounded by women and is tempted, perhaps, by an affair with the younger Valentina, the daughter of an ultra-rich tycoon who wants to buy his services. An apparent love triangle, but the characters are each more concerned with themselves than with their relationships with others, they speak little and when they do speak, they have difficulty expressing their emotions. So much so that we cannot know if emotions still exist.
The lead roles are played by Marcello Mastroianni (a negative role of a weak man, rare in his career), Jeanne Moreau (in a role that it is said that she did not love, but her character does not love herself either) and Monica Vitti (with a dangerous magnetism that will be unleashed in other films, later). Each of them lives their role with intensity and the quality of the actors is one of the keys to the success of this film. The image of the city, sometimes crowded, sometimes deserted, and the interiors of the houses create an immersive atmosphere. Music plays an important role, with two live bands at different moments of the film, accompanying the characters who cross the night, like the bands on the Titanic. ‘La notte‘ is a beautiful film, but viewers must accept the cinematic convention and above all the time and rhythm of the action. Like his colleagues of the generation that debuted and took form in the atmosphere of neo-realism, Antonioni makes a critical comment through his trilogy on the lack of meaning in the lives of the wealthy strata of Italian society, men and women preoccupied with themselves and powerless to externalize their feelings. The question that arises is where is the criticism directed? Is it a criticism of characters and perhaps even a satire on those who allow themselves an existential spleen? Or is it more of a social critique? Maybe both. Viewers will decide, each for themselves.