Director Antonio Pietrangeli handles traditionally lurid & tragic subject matter in a curiously detatched and episodic fashion devoid of the incisive elegance brought by Fellini to superficially similar content in 'La Dolce Vita'; although his excessive use of zooms and pans does rather tend to undermine cameraman Armando Nannuzzi's otherwise attractive visuals and vivid use of Rome locations.
A remarkable number of familiar faces (often considerably younger than we're used to seeing them) flit in and out of the action to uncertain purpose, and much of the film seems a pretext for various splashy party sequences in which desperation habitually seethes just below the surface; paving the way for a drama queen exit for heroine Stefania Sandrelli she scarcely seems to merit.
A remarkable number of familiar faces (often considerably younger than we're used to seeing them) flit in and out of the action to uncertain purpose, and much of the film seems a pretext for various splashy party sequences in which desperation habitually seethes just below the surface; paving the way for a drama queen exit for heroine Stefania Sandrelli she scarcely seems to merit.