Toni Servillo, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
In this political drama set in Italy, Toni Servillo (from "La Grande Belleza") is cast in a dual role. He plays both the disillusioned leader of the opposition party Enrico Oliveri who disappears and his lunatic identical twin brother Giovanni Ernani who is persuaded to fill in for Enrico during his absence.
Servillo plays both characters, differently. As Enrico, he is more pensive as the depressed politician who is clearly fed up with the rigors of his very demanding job. He shows up unannounced in France at the house of his ex girlfriend and her family. He is mostly in hiding and just wants to clear his mind. No questions asked, she accepts him and lets him join her family in their daily routine.
As Giovanni, he is the complete opposite. Portrayed with a sort of twinkle in his eyes, the identical twin is more loquacious and surprisingly does have some strong political views about the state of the nation. Soon enough, the populace is awakened from his more vibrant political rallies where he speaks eloquently about empowering people to get the government they truly deserve.
The film exposes some political wheeling and dealing of the government but doesn't handle it too heavily. Mostly presented through a sarcastic tone of comedy, especially when Giovanni is in high spirits and rallying the crowd at the political rallies.
In the same manner that Enrico has no clue about what to do next with his life, the last part of the film simply fails apart. With a general lack of vitriol, the movie ends ambiguously. Honestly, the brilliant acting from Toni Servillo is the only redeeming factor in this otherwise slightly boring motion picture.
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