Ferzan Özpetek’s 15th feature harks back to the time he was an assistant to such important Italian directors as Massimo Troisi, Maurizio Ponzi, Ricky Tognazzi, Sergio Citti, and Francesco Nuti. Among his tasks was to liaise with the costume makers at the Sartoria Tirelli, which was run by Piero Tosi. Those experiences inform Diamanti, which will remind those fortunate to see it courtesy of CinemaItaliaUK of the sure touch that made Özpetek such a critical favourite with such early outings as Hamam (1997), Harem Suare (1999), The Ignorant Fairies (2001), and Facing Windows (2003), which won the prestigious David di Donatello Award for Best Film.
As it’s dedicated to Mariangela Melato, Virna Lisi, and Monica Vitti, it's fitting that the action opens with some of the actresses with whom Özpetek has worked down the years. Indeed, he even takes a cameo as himself to welcome such old colleagues as Luisa Ranieri, Jasmine Trinca, Nicole Grimaudo, Paola Minaccioni, Elena Sofia Ricci, Lunetta Savino, Aurora Giovinazzo, Milena Vukotic, Carla Signoris, Anna Ferzetti, and Loredana Cannata. Along with newcomers Vanessa Scalera, Geppi Cucciari, Milena Mancini, Sara Bosi, and Mara Venier, they have been invited to lunch and a read through of Özpetek's latest screenplay, which he has co-written with Carlotta Corradi and Elisa Casseri and which sets its story in Rome in 1974.
Set in the 1970s and present day, the film tells the story of sisters Alberta and Gabriella Canova and the group of women who work for their cinema costume company in Rome. Rooted in such Hollywood ensemble pieces as George Cukor’s The Women (1939) and Sidney Lumet’s The Group (1966), this is a splendidly involving drama that pieces together several vignettes to create more of a character study than a storyline. Some of the seamstress tales feel a bit novelettish, but Özpetek knows precisely what he's doing, as he has the score by Giuliano Taviani and Carmelo Travia ladle on the pathos when required. And, in an extra wink to the audience, he even repurposes the crux of Leo McCarey’s An Affair to Remember (1957) for the culmination of the Alberta/Cavani strand!
This is played, as is the entire picture, with impeccable good taste by a cast whose collusion in the mischief is made apparent during the opening luncheon. Indeed, they even feature in an occasional self-reflexive cutaway, as if to remind us that we are watching a film and that even they were affected by scenes like the one in which Gabriella’s secret is revealed. Possibly Özpetek pushes this gambit too far by appearing during the all-nighter to look directly into the lens after checking up on the snoozing Silvana and then to encounter Elena Sofia Ricci on the deserted set before producing the keepsake that resembles the snow globe in Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane (1941).
Luisa Ranieri and Jasmine Trinca must be singled out for their exceptional performances, but mention should also be made of Vanessa Scalera as the insecure Bianca and Mara Venier as the den-mothering Silvana, who never seems to get ruffled. Unlike some of the marvellous costumes designed by Stefano Ciammitti, whose colours are vividly captured by cinematographer Gian Filippo Corticelli, who also captures with atmospheric finesse the light changes between the different rooms in Deniz Göktürk Kobanba’s interiors.
Holding it all together is Özpetek, who is on Sacred Heart (2005) or Loose Cannons (2010) form here and it’s a shame that UK audiences have been denied the chance to see acclaimed features like Saturn in Opposition (2007) and A Perfect Day (2008) and such recent (and more critically divisive) releases as Magnificent Presence (2012), Fasten Your Seatbelts (2014), Red Istanbul (2017), Naples in Veils (2018), The Goddess of Fortune (2019), and Nuovo Olimpo (2023), which would all grace a National Film Theatre retrospective.