Directed: Paola Cortellesi
Written by: Paola Cortellesi, Furio Andreotti, and Giulia Calenda
Starring: Paola Cortellesi, Valerio Mastandrea, Romana Maggiora Vergano, Emanuela Fanelli, Giorgio Colangeli, Francesco Centorame, Gianmarco Filippini, and Mattia Baldo
Runtime: 118 minutes
‘There’s Still Tomorrow’: Cortellesi has a bright directorial future after her fabulous debut feature
The title of director/co-writer/lead actress Paola Cortellesi’s post-WWII dramedy, set in Rome, could speak to optimism or procrastination.
“Hey, today was a washout, but there’s still tomorrow!”
“Geez, I wasted so much time today. My work isn’t nearly finished, but there’s still tomorrow.”
Delia (Paola Cortellesi) - a 40-something mother, housewife, and part-time nurse/seamstress/other paying professions – is neither an optimist nor a procrastinator. This dedicated Jane of all trades – not unlike Cortellesi, who directs, co-writes, and stars in her fabulous first feature film - is constantly on the move. Cooking meals for her husband, Ivano (Valerio Mastandrea), his father, Ottorino (Giorgio Colangeli), and three children, Marcella (Romana Maggiora Vergano), Franchino (Gianmarco Filippini), and Sergio (Mattia Baldo), cleaning the house, and worrying about her family is beyond a full-time job.
Marcella, in her early 20s, embarrassingly comments that her mom always wears an apron, even when company visits.
While Marcella, Ivano, and the young boys leave their basement apartment from 9 to 5, Delia makes her rounds around The Eternal City, earning 20 or 30 lira per stop during her modest collection of jobs throughout her days. Industrious to a fault, she only has a few minutes a day for reflection, friendship, and laughter.
Although her tireless efforts keep her children healthy and a roof (actually, a first floor) over their family’s heads, she finds little reason for enthusiasm.
Delia married a tyrant.
Ivano is a physically and mentally abusive monster. In fact, he slaps her during their first scene together, and the blistering violence (or suggestions of violence) continues throughout the 118-minute movie. He claims his pugilistic behavior is due to fighting in two wars, but he’s brought any bottled-up hostility on the battlefields into their home. Still, one suspects that he possessed this aggression before the worldwide conflicts.
Delia and the kids live in fear.
From the get-go, Delia’s dicey circumstances are on display. Still, Cortellesi and cinematographer Davide Leone sometimes take alternative measures to lessen the violence, including filming Delia and Ivano literally dancing. While he delivers beatings and chokings, bruises appear and then vanish on her body. In other cases, the abuse is shuttled behind closed doors and windows, even though the audience struggles with knowing Delia’s repeated fate in those moments.
“There’s Still Tomorrow” – winner of six 2024 David di Donatello awards, including Best New Director, Screenplay (Cortellesi, Furio Andreotti, and Giulia Calenda), and Actress (Cortellesi) – sounds like it might feel as dire as “Requiem for a Dream” (2000).
Desperation does occupy this story, no question, but Cortellesi also – ironically - preserves a quirky, comedic touch as a cinematic throughline that strums amusing delights while enduring vicious hardship in Delia’s marriage.
Filmed in glorious black and white to fit the period, Cortellesi and cinematographer Davide Leone’s camerawork and movie magic evoke 1940s working-class vibes, where communal courtyard chitchat about making ends meet, domestic dilemmas, and spicy gossip rule the days under sunny Roman skies.
Delia’s BFF, Marisa (Emanuela Fanelli), complains about her dim but loyal, likable husband, and our lead shares that a handsome American solider, William (Yonv Joseph), was kind and that American men, in general, seem to have more of their teeth that their Italian counterparts.
Still, this historical account, of Italy attempting to find its way after warfare defeat, spins modern vibes and records with The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and OutKast uttering hip beats on occasion. Delia struts about Roman streets with purpose and resolve, like the fellas from “Reservoir Dogs” (1992).
Her boys, Franchino and Sergio, also frequently argue and curse at wholly inappropriate times to hilarious effect that wouldn’t fly in a Frank Capra production.
One cannot imagine Zuzu saying, “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his f****** wings.”
Delia tries to be an angel to her closest friends and children, but her connection to Marcella endures as the most caring and robust. Delia wishes happiness and financial comfort – two ingredients lacking in her own marriage - for Marcella and her beau, Giulio (Francesco Centorame). Meanwhile, her daughter often gazes at her mom with frustration about staying with her dad.
Delia remarks with an air of doom, “And where do I go?”
This movie is set during an era when women’s limited life choices damage their dreams, but perhaps Delia may find some repair or escape toward a new beginning. The odds are against her, but there’s still tomorrow.
Jeff’s ranking
3.5/4 stars
