Luchino Visconti’s final masterpiece is a chilling portrait of masculine vanity and moral decay.
In short: Released posthumously in 1976, The Innocent serves as a haunting swan song for director Luchino Visconti. This adaptation of Gabriele d'Annunzio’s 1892 novel explores the destructive obsession of a Roman aristocrat whose possessive nature leads to a cold-blooded act of infanticide, ultimately unraveling his own carefully constructed world.
Set in the late 1890s, the narrative centers on Tullio Hermil, a wealthy aristocrat who treats his wife, Giuliana, with neglect while flaunting his mistress, Teresa Raffo. The dynamic shifts when Tullio discovers Giuliana has found happiness with a novelist, Filippo d'Arborio. Her subsequent pregnancy by d'Arborio ignites a volatile mix of jealousy and renewed obsession in Tullio. Despite his demands for an abortion, Giuliana persists, and after d'Arborio dies from malaria complications, Tullio finds himself unable to coexist with the newborn child.
The film’s climax occurs during Christmas mass, where Tullio exposes the infant to the elements, leading to the child's death. While the act is framed as natural causes, Giuliana recognizes it as murder and abandons him. In a final, desperate attempt to reclaim his former life, Tullio tries to restart his affair with Teresa. Upon her rejection, he commits suicide, leaving her to simply gather her belongings and depart. Critics have lauded the work as a withering critique of male self-delusion, with Vincent Canby describing it as one of Visconti’s most disciplined and beautiful films.
The production was marked by significant casting shifts. Visconti initially envisioned Alain Delon and Romy Schneider for the leads, but Delon declined due to concerns over Visconti’s health following a stroke, and Schneider was unavailable. Charlotte Rampling was also considered, claiming the screenplay was written with her in mind. Despite these challenges, the film, shot across various historic Italian villas, remains a critical success. It was entered into the 1976 Cannes Film Festival and earned accolades, including a David di Donatello award for Franco Mannino’s score, cementing its legacy as a profound meditation on the fragility of the ego.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: The Innocent (1976 film)
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