Tornatore, best known for Cinema Paradiso, has meticulously crafted a story that's at times so raw it hurts to watch. Its action blends piercingly lit flashbacks and dream sequences with a gray, prosaic present in an unnamed Italian city.
The Unknown Woman
2006 · 1h 58m · R
Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Directed by
Giuseppe Tornatore
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The Unknown Woman
Overview
A Ukrainian woman named Irena calculatedly insinuates herself into the lives of a young, affluent Italian family. Stopping at nothing to become the couple's trusted maid and the beloved nanny to their fragile young daughter, Irena risks everything in her quest to uncover the truth about the family.
Director and cast
- Giuseppe Tornatore Director
- Kseniya Rappoport as Irena
- Michele Placido as Muffa
- Claudia Gerini as Valeria Adacher
- Pierfrancesco Favino as Donato Adacher
- Clara Dossena as Tea Adacher
- Alessandro Haber as Matteo
- Piera Degli Esposti as Gina
- Pino Calabrese as GIP
- Ángela Molina as Lucrezia
- Paolo Elmo as Nello
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
The Unknown Woman falters when it falls into exploitation and fatal contrivance.
The film has major problems blending the strong social theme of exploitation and white slavery with Tornatore's noirish screenplay, full of holes and improbabilities.
Plays like a cross between Hitchcock and tabloid feminism, a mix that shouldn't work and doesn't.
A spellbinder with a lot of Hitchcock touches and an Ennio Morricone score to match.
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