Parthenope (Celeste Dalla Porta) is an intelligent and challenging anthropology student who impresses her teachers and peers. When she’s not in class, the Naples native embraces life with her brother, Raimondo (Daniele Rienzo), and lifelong best friend Sandrino (Dario Aita). The men around Parthenope are infatuated by her, and the women admire her. Is there anything she can’t do? The answer: no – she can in fact do it all; such as take a break from her studies to pursue an acting career and earn the respect of performance royalty.

The unbreakable qualities of this titular character in Paolo Sorrentino’s Parthenope, including Celeste Dalla Porta’s natural charisma, give the film its stardom. When Sorrentino (The Great Beauty, Youth) is working within this element, Parthenope is an opulent Mediterranean fantasy; boasting love and laughs on beautiful Greek scenery.

The weaker stretches of Parthenope occur when reality dampens around the cheery student. A death in the family forces Parthenope to confront trauma that opens a gateway to flaws she was blinded to before; such as Naples’ homelessness and elitists, as well as the sadness of others that’s often masked by their feigned smiles. These issues are confronted with soapy epiphanies, which reveals that the emotional core of Parthenope is as deep as a puddle. Still, the film stays rooted in fantasy. This contributes consistency to the central performance that ultimately anchors Sorrentino’s work without removing any heaviness from its topics.

This is Parthenope’s world, and we’re just living in it.

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Addison Wylie: @AddisonWylie