{{Short description|2021 drama film}} {{Infobox film | name = | image = Lovely Boy Locandina.jpg | director = Francesco Lettieri | screenplay = Francesco Lettieri<br> Peppe Fiore | starring = Andrea Carpenzano | music = Paco Martinelli | cinematography = Gianluca Palma | editing = Mauro Rodella | producer = Nicola Giuliano<br>Francesca Cima<br> Carlotta Calori | distributor = | released = {{Film date|2021}} | country = | language = Italian | budget = }} '''''Lovely Boy''''' is a 2021 Italian drama film co-written and directed by Francesco Lettieri and starring Andrea Carpenzano. It premiered at the 78th edition of the Venice Film Festival.
== Plot == {{No plot|date=October 2024}}
== Cast ==
* Andrea Carpenzano as Nic / Lovely Boy * Daniele Del Plavignano as Daniele * Ludovica Martino as Fabiana / Fabi * Enrico Borello as Borneo * Riccardo De Filippis as Padella * Pierluigi Pasino as Lorenzo * Martino Perdisa as Martino * Federica Rosellini as Cecilia
==Production== The screenplay was written during the second month of lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Colangeli |first1=Sabrina |title='Lovely Boy' incontro con regista e cast |url=https://www.taxidrivers.it/198525/interviews/lovely-boy-incontro-con-regista-e-cast.html |access-date=24 October 2024 |work=Taxidrivers.it |date=13 September 2021 |language=it-IT}}</ref> Principal photography started in April 2021.<ref name="per" /> The film was produced by Indigo Film in co-production with Vision Distribution and Sky Italia.<ref name="per">{{cite news |last1=De Marco |first1=Camillo |title=Filming begins on Francesco Lettieri's Lovely Boy |url=https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/401696/ |access-date=24 October 2024 |work=Cineuropa |date=14 April 2021 |language=en}}</ref> It was shot between Rome and Trentino-Alto Adige.<ref name="per" />
==Release==
The film premiered at the 79th Venice International Film Festival, as the closing film of the Giornate degli Autori sidebar.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Scarpa |first1=Vittoria |title=Review: Lovely Boy |url=https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/410405/ |access-date=24 October 2024 |work=Cineuropa |date=13 September 2021 |language=en}}</ref> It had a limited release in Italian cinemas on 13 September 2021.<ref name="st">{{cite news |last1=Tammaro |first1=Gianmaria |title="Lovely Boy", dalla trap alla droga, ma con ritorno |url=https://www.lastampa.it/topnews/tempi-moderni/2021/09/13/news/lovely-boy-dal-trap-alla-droga-ma-con-ritorno-1.40698282/ |access-date=24 October 2024 |work=La Stampa |date=13 September 2021 |language=it}}</ref>
==Reception== ''La Stampa'' critic Gianmaria Tammaro wrote that the film "tells a story of drug addiction without lapsing into qualunquism or clichés; the characters are real, concrete, and multifaceted" and it's "a film that does not need to shout, that knows how to maintain a balance, and that closes without really closing: the final scene is almost a new beginning, not a conclusion; and there is never, even for a second, a judgmental or patronizing tone".<ref name="st" />
Amber Wilkinson from ''Eye for Film'' gave the film three points out of five, noting that "Aside from the slightly unusual music scene setting [...] there's little here to distinguish this from many similar addiction tales. [...] The heart of Lettieri's heart is definitely in the right place, but it doesn't have a particularly strong or unique beat."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wilkinson |first1=Amber |title=Lovely Boy (2021) Movie Review |url=https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/lovely-boy-2021-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson |access-date=24 October 2024 |work=Eye for Film |date=5 October 2021}}</ref>
For his performance in this film and in ''Swing Ride'', Andrea Carpenzano received a Nastro d'Argento nomination for best actor.<ref>{{cite news |title=Nastri d'Argento Cinema: le nomination 2022 - Cinema |url=https://www.raicultura.it/cinema/articoli/2022/06/Nastri-dArgento-Cinema-tutte-le-nomination-2022-8af1b2c9-522f-45c0-8a87-3e2ecf396e6f.html |access-date=24 October 2024 |work=Rai Cultura |date=20 June 2022 |language=it}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * {{IMDb title}} Category:2021 films Category:2021 drama films Category:Italian drama films Category:Films produced by Nicola Giuliano Category:Indigo Film films Category:Films shot in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol Category:Films shot in Rome Category:Films about drugs