PARTHENOPE - Mark Reviews Movies

Parthenope, A24

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Review by Mark Dujsik | February 6, 2025

It must be something of a feat for a filmmaker to make us spend more than two hours with a character and somehow reveal nothing of note about that person. That's the case with Parthenope, writer/director Paolo Sorrentino's decade-spanning biography, and its eponymous protagonist, a woman of considerable beauty and mystery. Sorrentino has a history of including such women in his past movies, usually as figures of desire for his male characters. Perhaps, he's attempting to prove that he can flip that dynamic in some way and portray a woman as more than that. If that is the point of this shallow tale, he might have proven the opposite.

There's a single question aimed at the main character repeatedly here: "What are you thinking about?" The running theme of the story is that Parthenope (Celeste Dalla Porta) never once answers that question. Some see that as a sign that her thoughts are too deep to put into words. One man assumes it means that Parthenope isn't intelligent enough to think on some deeper level.

Most, however, see that as a confirmation that the woman is simply an enigma, going through the world on several adventures, encountering people—mostly men—of power and influence or anonymity and modesty, and keeping her thoughts to herself. For most of these men, that's an enticing prospect, because it means they may someday solve the puzzle of this woman or that they don't have to worry about her once they get what want from her. Somehow, we understand the men here, who come and go over the course of the years of this story, more than we can comprehend Parthenope.

She's not even a riddle by way of Sorrentino's storytelling and filmmaking. She's just a pretty face with some hidden intelligence and wisdom that, apparently, is proven by everything that happens off-screen. If the purpose of this movie is to show that the character is much more than how others view her, it has failed quite miserably.

As a result, Parthenope is quite dull as a character, despite the inherent charm Porta brings to the role. She's an undeniable beauty, to be sure, but the actress brings some dead-pan humor to the character, too, as Parthenope cuts down various men's advances or insults with clever wordplay. The way Sorrentino shoots his leading lady almost feels as if he wants any description of her and her character to start with her appearance. As the movie continues, he doesn't provide the actor or the character with much more to describe, though, apart from some broad sentiments about her personality.

Considering the scope of the story, we should be able to see at least a bit more than that, right? It follows Parthenope from her birth in Naples to well-to-do parents, through her assorted travels and unofficial studies as a young woman, and, finally, to the end of her professional life, after many years of unseen accomplishments. Much of what could inform us about Parthenope as more than a woman that many men want here is left unseen and unheard, in fact.

The parade of potential suitors begins almost immediately, as Parthenope has been loved by her friend Sandrino (Dario Aita), the son of the governess who works in family's estate, and, in one of the movie's more unsettling notions, her older brother Raimondo (Daniele Rienzo). The first section of the narrative deals with a sort of love triangle between Parthenope, the friend, and her brother, as they travel to Capri and try to live there without any money, before tragedy ends that trip.

Along the way, she meets several men, including an author (played by Gary Oldman) whom she admires (His interests lie in men, but that doesn't stop him from making a big point about her youth and beauty) and too many more to name at this point. Almost all of them want to have sex with her. On occasion, she agrees. Sometimes, their advances are too aggressive or strange (such as when one guy brings her to a public sex show) for her.

The one most notable exception is Parthenope's relationship with anthropology professor Stefano Marotta (Silvio Orlando). Their connection is professional, refreshing, and surprisingly sweet as it progresses. Is it important to note that Parthenope is thinking of becoming an academic? It definitely should be, but for a long time, Sorrentino seems to think his protagonist's career interests are a distraction from the sex escapades and misadventures.

By the end, Parthenope sees its main character, to be sure. The movie just doesn't seem to have much interest in who she is.

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