A Thriller with Many Sins

Is there anything better than a good thriller? There are few things in cinema that are as in intellectually investing as attempting to solve a mystery. It pumps audiences full of tension and adds an undeniable sense of engagement to a movie or TV show. However, a good thriller that really sinks its teeth into its audience is very rare to come by. We look at recent greats like Prisoners, Oldboy, Parasite, Se7en, and Inception as shining examples of flawless thrillers, and what others in the genre should certainly look up too.

So far, 2023 has been a satisfying year for fans of thriller movies. Missing and Knock at the Cabin are not just the best thrillers of the year, but are also among the best thriller movies of the young decade so far. Naturally however, there have been many which have failed to hook audiences into their complex mysteries, and unfortunately, The Man from Rome is one of them.

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La Piel Del Tambor

Based on the book La Piel Del Tambor, written by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, The Man from Rome centers around Father Quart (Richard Armitage) as he’s sent on an investigation when a computer hacker penetrates the Vatican’s security and delivers an urgent anonymous plea to the pope, threatening him and the entire Vatican. As Father Quart delves deeper into this mystery, he begins to uncover dark secrets about the Vatican. Secrets that many will do anything to protect.

The Man from Rome is a movie we really wanted to love. Its core premise and themes are undoubtedly captivating, and the cast is great. Plus it’s a thriller centered around the dark secrets of the Vatican, how could we not be excited. Sadly, the movie fails to reel us in. The mystery is far too complex, forcing audiences to take a step back, the lack of tension is a major flaw and the performances were simply disappointing.

There are a few action scenes scattered throughout that attempt to keep audiences engaged, but they are few and far between and wholly lackluster. We prayed that shaky cam and disorienting editing in action scenes were a thing of the past, but in the case of The Man from Rome, clearly we were mistaken. The film contains a lot of cinema sins, and not even a holy confession could set the movie free.

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A Fantastic Premise

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There’s no denying that the idea and concept of the Vatican essentially serving as a somewhat MI5 with highly trained and highly intelligent agents is brilliant. The film showcases the Vatican’s power and impressive tech within its early minutes, instantly feeling like a James Bond movie, making fans excited for what’s to come. The movie even has a Bond-like title sequence, though it’s unfortunately bland and uninspired, and it’s at this point where audiences can tell what sort of movie they are in for.

The Man from Rome’s concept is still compelling. However, other than within its opening minutes, the movie never leans into its ridiculous nature. Let’s not pretend that the Vatican being an Italian MI5 isn’t bonkers, so it would have been much more entertaining for the movie to just own it and embrace the fun of it all. If The Man from Rome delved into a style somewhat reminiscent of the John Wick franchise would be far more thrilling than the film’s final product.

Continuing the James Bond parallels, there is a scene where it is implied that Father Quart has a sexual interaction with Macarena Burner (Amaia Salamanca), which will force you to roll your eyes. It’s unnecessary and odd, and surely breaks a few rules for being a part of the Church, especially a member of the Vatican. Sure, they are technically special agents, but they still have the beliefs of our real world priests and other members of the Church.

A Slow, Slow Burner

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There’s nothing wrong with a slow-burner, as long as we are engaged in the movie’s plot and characters. Likewise, if the film makes us feel tense, scared or emotional, there’s nothing to complain about. However, with The Man from Rome, there’s plenty to complain about. The movie’s main plot and mystery is far too needlessly complex, even within its early moments. Audiences will struggle to keep up with where the story is going, and there’s far too many characters that get introduced over the course of the movie. Throughout the film we also get introduced to a handful of subplots which are all simply uninteresting. There are a few plot twists to be found, but considering many audiences won’t care very much about the movie anyway, these twists don’t work in the movie’s favor.

As previously mentioned, there are a few action scenes, but again they are just not up to par. Granted the movie isn’t an action movie, so it can be somewhat forgiven. But in a world where the action genre is currently dominated by action movies such as the John Wick franchise, which deliver groundbreaking action scenes, the action found in The Man from Rome is just uninspired and not exciting in the slightest, something exacerbated by the fact that the music is unfortunately unmemorable and doesn’t elevate any of the adrenaline that it should.

To put the final cherry on top of this unsatisfying cake of a slow-burner is the fact that The Man from Rome is 120 minutes long. This wouldn’t be an issue if the movie was tense, engaging, intriguing and entertaining, but the bottom line is that it isn’t. A crisp 90 minutes would have done the job just right, cutting out many unimportant characters and subplots that overcomplicated the movie, and all in all would have made for a less aggravating watch.

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Disappointing Performances

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To add to the movie’s unfortunate pile of sins, the movie’s performances just didn’t work in the film’s favor. Richard Armitage gave a fine performance, but he didn’t do much to elevate his character. Unfortunately, it was the rest of the cast who couldn’t hold their own, perhaps because the movie is an English-language film for some bizarre reason. Maybe it’s to reach a wider audience, but that was in favor of a weaker product. With a cast full of Italian actors, we can’t help but feel that their performances would have been far better and more authentic if their dialogue was in their native language. This would have benefited both the actors, and the movie.

That said, we can’t fully blame the actors as the material and dialogue they had to deal with wasn’t great. Many moments of dialogue just didn’t flow, and characters would more often than not reply in very peculiar responses, perhaps in the attempt to sound somewhat poetic, but it sadly just didn’t work. Ultimately, The Man from Rome should’ve stayed in Rome.

Screen Media will release The Man from Rome in theaters and on demand on Friday, June 30, 2023.

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