LIKE CRAZY

This astutely written feel-good dramedy is a surprisingly enjoyable Italian film which should have movie-goers leaving cinemas with huge smiles on their faces.

Set in a progressive psychiatric hospital in the Tuscan Hills of Italy, the story centres on the unlikely friendship which builds between two patients, Beatrice (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) a motor-mouthed and over-bearing fantasiser, and Donatella (Micaela Ramazotti), the younger of the duo who longs to see her son.

They flee the clinic and embark on a road trip exclaiming “We’ll have a crazy good time!” Their newfound relationship is therapeutic and both ladies are on personal missions which may restore happiness in their lives.

The comic elements in this film mainly derive from the award-winning performance by Tedeschi, whose on-screen presence will charm audiences and leave them pondering whether Beatrice is a scheming egotistical liar with mental issues or, more desirably, a likeable nutcase.

The mood abruptly changes in the last quarter of the film, where heart wrenching scenes deliver some surprises and shocks as both characters confront the issues in their lives. (MMo)

★★★1/2