Two worlds collide in Giuseppe Piccioni's heart-rending love story. At first glance this appears to be a commonplace romance between a mismatched couple, one a married novelist, the other an enigmatic swimming instructor. But Piccioni does some very magical things in Giulia Doesn't Date at Night. Centred around two very fine performances, the film turns the ordinary upside down, and tears at our emotions in the process. Piccioni employs a series of revelations to keep the narrative moving, while firmly building his film around the growing relationship between this seemingly unlikely pair.
Guido (Valerio Mastandrea), nominated for a prestigious literary prize, finds himself at a junction in his life when he is searching for inspiration. Bored and listless, trying to work his way into a new novel while variously imagining a series of different narratives, he meets Giulia (Valeria Golino), his daughter's swimming instructor. Intrigued, he starts to take lessons, and one day at the pool he invites her out – only to be told that she doesn't date at night. Giulia is serving a prison sentence for a crime of passion that has torn her life apart, and though she is allowed out on day passes, she must return home in the evening. Thus begins a strange romance, through which both characters slowly emerge from their cocoons and start to blossom. Guido finds that Giulia begins to invade the stories that are swirling around in his head, while Giulia, suspicious and mistrustful of any emotional relationship, discovers in Guido a stability and self-assurance that are perhaps what she needs.
Piccioni sketches their developing love story against a variety of other competing demands. Guido must manage his own family, while Giulia deals with a former life that is a mess of betrayal and violence. But out of their challenges emerge the beginnings of a beautifully wrought romance, made all the more effective due to the pasts from which both attempt to escape. Ultimately, Giulia Doesn't Date at Night confounds our expectations, for life rarely turns out to be like a movie.
Piers Handling
Giuseppe Piccioni was born in Ascoli Piceno, Italy, and attended the Gaumont School of Cinema under Renzo Rossellini. His films have screened at many international festivals and have garnered multiple awards. He is the director of the features
Il Grande Blek (87),
Ask for the Moon (91),
Condemned to Wed (92),
Penniless Hearts (96),
Not of This World (98),
Light of My Eyes (01),
The Life I Want (04) and
Giulia Doesn't Date at Night (09).