Director Abel Ferrara is an acclaimed arthouse auteur known for provocative films that revel in shaking audiences out of their complacency. Notable works such as The King of New York and Bad Lieutenant put him on the map as someone to watch, but his latest film sees the director trading in the darkness of others for the darkness within himself. Arguably his most personal film to date, Tommaso finds regular Ferrara collaborator Willem Dafoe in the titular role that registers so close to the director that he might as well have used his actual name for the film. Tommaso is an American director living in Rome with his much younger wife Nikki and three-year-old daughter Didi, played by Ferrara’s real life wife and daughter, Cristina Chiriac and Anna Ferrara. Tommaso is a recovering drug addict and alcoholic who is trying to put his destructive tendencies behind him in favor of a more fulfilling life. Tommaso is doing all of the things he thinks are right; he is learning Italian to be closer to his wife, he regularly attends meetings to maintain his sobriety, and he is trying to be a more present and concerned father. These are all worthwhile pursuits, but a bubbling insecurity will prove to be one hell of an obstacle on his way to happiness.
Ferrara attacks Tommaso with a self-awareness and emotional honesty that is truly staggering to behold. As a character, we soon learn that Tommaso is not someone who can be completely trusted as a narrator. Quite frequently, Tommaso indulges in sexual daydreaming that is quite obvious in its heightened reality; the beautiful woman who serves him his coffee is completely naked, one of the students from his acting class frantically dances naked around him like a game of seduction, etc. So when he sees Nikki kissing another man in the park while he is out having a day with Didi, the reality of the situation cannot be fully trusted. Is Nikki really cheating on him, or is this merely a manifestation of his paranoia stemming from the insecurity he feels about their age difference? Tommaso has been a bit preoccupied with prepping his next ambitious project, in reality this is the upcoming Dafoe-starring Siberia, and he has not been able to connect with his wife as much as he should. The truth of the infidelity is not really of great importance, as Tommaso is letting this feeling impact his life either way.
Willem Dafoe has rarely been better than he is in this role. Sure, films such as The Lighthouse and At Eternity’s Gate are much showier in their way, but watching Dafoe tackle a normal person in present day is a visceral experience that is hard to describe. In this film, he draws from everything that has come before, including a surprisingly apt performance in The Last Temptation of Christ, and channels it into the essence of this character. This is a performance brimming with ambiguities and set free via astonishing moments of improvisation. In one particularly memorable moment, Tommaso races to confront a vagrant that is keeping his daughter up with his yelling on the street. The puffed-out chest indicates that he is ready for a fight, but the marvelous, authentic conversation that actually transpires is a wonder to behold. Tommaso is a character that can be both incredibly sympathetic and frustratingly reductive in equal measure. The joy of this film is the way in which it refuses to cast judgement on his actions. When you observe a particularly nasty interaction between Tommaso and Nikki, the side you take will be entirely dependent on the experiences that the viewer brings with them.
Ferrara is laying himself bare for the world to see in this film. This might be considered a bit indulgent, but some of the best art springs from unfiltered honesty. Tommaso is an incisive depiction at what happens to one’s mind when they let fear infect it. Throughout the film, Tommaso gets more volatile and engages in poor decision making as he feels more emotionally impotent and suppresses his anger. He begins to escape to fantasies more and more, some sexual and some violent. The lines between fantasy and reality get blurred to a point that you will be left debating what the film leaves you with in the waning moments. The film is intentionally slow as you grapple with a character who is struggling to slow his mind down. You may find yourself struggling with the purposefully obtuse nature of the film, but if you really engage with it you should find it to be one of the rewarding aspects of the project. No matter which side you land on in the fantasy versus reality debate, Ferrara intentionally leaves you with a note of hope in the form of his dancing daughter. Life can break a multitude of different ways, but if you keep the hope you will find that it keeps going. Tommaso is a film that is hard to shake, which is a great indicator that you have just experienced something special. Those who are willing to go on this journey should find something very human to relate to in this story.
Video Quality
Tommaso comes to Blu-Ray in a 1080p presentation that is truly a beauty. This is a visually rich film with gorgeous shots of Rome throughout where you can see an incredible amount of detail. The vivid colors really pop, especially the greens of the foliage. The white levels are handled beautifully, along with the intensely deep blacks that do not appear to suffer from any compression artifacts. There are many scenes that feature dim lighting that hold up exceedingly well. There are a few scenes, especially a key scene near the end, that appear a bit washed out by the sun, but that appears to be something inherent to the original source rather than a transfer issue. There are no instances of intrusive digital noise in the presentation. The skin tones look very detailed and natural all around. This presentation is definitely a winner for the Blu-Ray format.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray disc comes with a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that brings this environment to life perfectly. This is a film that is driven by dialogue and does not feature much in the way of action. The surround speakers get some nice engagement early on during a rainy sequence that feels three dimensional. The pleasing score from Joe Delia is showcased beautifully here with a gently enveloping use of the surround speakers. The dialogue comes through crystal clear without ever being overpowered by the environmental effects or the score. The sound design is very natural and directionally accurate with all of the sounds positioned just right in the mix. As this is not an action-heavy film, the activity in the low end is employed sparingly throughout the presentation. The audio presentation represents the film perfectly from beginning to end.
Special Features
The Blu-Ray of Tommaso includes a multi-page booklet featuring the essay “Life Going On: Abel Ferrara’s Tommaso” by author Brad Stevens (Abel Ferrara: The Moral Vision). The essay provides a great amount of cinematic context to the film, analyzes plot points in-depth and gives some background on the director that prove key to unlocking some of the themes at play. The on-disc special features are as follows:
- Interview with Director Abel Ferrara: A 53-minute Zoom interview with director Abel Ferrara hosted by The Film at Lincoln Center and moderated by Sean Baker (The Florida Project). Ferrara talks about the autobiographical nature of the film, improvisation in the film and more. His wife and co-star of the film Christina Ferrara also pops in to discuss some of her work with Willem in the film and how her real-life daughter reacted to the more intense scenes with Dafoe. There are some technical difficulties with the interview, but there are some really incisive thoughts from the participants.
- Interview with Willem Dafoe: A 33-minute Zoom interview with Willem Dafoe hosted by Mark Anastasio of the Coolidge Corner Theatre out of Boston. Dafoe discusses his collaborations with Ferrara, his comfort with improvisation, experiences shooting with a homeless man, how yoga impacts his performance and more. Dafoe is one of the all-time greats, and hearing him share his insights into the film is invaluable.
- Tommaso Trailer: A minute-and-a-half long trailer that captures the spirit of the film without giving too much away.
- Pasolini Trailer: A two-minute trailer of one of Abel Ferrara’s other recent collaborations with Dafoe, also available from Kino Lorber. This reveals something that appears to be just as shocking and just as stylish.
Final Thoughts
Tommaso is a thematically challenging, but ultimately rewarding film that delves into the dark recesses of a troubled mind. Willem Dafoe once again showcases why he is considered to be one of the finest actors currently working. Kino Lorber has provided a Blu-Ray with a standout A/V presentation and some very interesting special features. If you are looking to engage with an introspective drama that will only reveal more layers the more you poke around in it, this one should not be missed. Highly Recommended
Tommaso is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Kino Lorber has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.