The Double Hour (2009) User Reviews

Rich psychological thriller

[SkohlSwart · 8/10 · 19 September 2009]

I just got back from viewing a screening of this film at the 2009 TIFF. I am very glad that I went this year, because this was one of the most enjoyable experiences I had at the theatre in some time.

The Double Hour was billed as a surreal thriller, so I was expecting something Lynchian. However, this film does not leave any loose ends. Any confusing parts come to a satisfying conclusion, and there are plenty of clues along the way that allow you to piece the story together.

I also enjoyed how it is two movies in one, in a way. One is a scary, bewildering psychological thriller, and it is contained within an interconnected arc that is part crime drama and part character exploration, made rich by the well-written and well-acted characters.

Standing out, obviously, is the main character, Sonia. She is a very attractive lead, both physically and as a performer, and carries the movie effectively.

The direction of this film is intelligent and fast-paced. Quick cuts are used to jarring effect, and a slightly shaky, hand-held feeling creates a great deal of tension. Overall, I would recommend this film for fans of European movies, mysteries, thrillers and psychological dramas. It is very solid, put together well, and will leave you sated.

Supernatural noir.

[Rockwell_Cronenberg · 8/10 · 1 June 2011]

The Double Hour is a very interesting film. One of those rare pictures in which every scene counts. It's hard to review it without spoiling anything, since a lot of it's brilliance lays in a very surreal and terrifying sequence of events. The film is a lot of things; a twisted thriller, a unique and intense romance and a character study of two different individuals who find exactly what they need in each other. It works on every level that it attains towards, thanks primarily to a very intelligent script and superb performances from Filippo Timi and especially Kseniya Rappoport. The film has a lot of twists and a lot of, "what the hell is happening?" scenes, but thanks to the script it never gets too far ahead of the audience. It's easy to stick with, while still being intellectually stimulating. I wasn't bored for a second, from the huge shock of the opening scene until the interesting final one. There's a lot of great aspects that are involved throughout, the film really knows how to give it's two main characters some very emotional and enlightening arcs. They both go through a world of emotional distress and in the end they are completely changed while remaining in the same basic place that they started off. It asks a lot of questions and leaves the audience to debate them long after the film is over. Can you ever truly trust someone? What is the nature of revenge? How do you move past losing a loved one? There are many more and the film keeps you guessing all the way through. Tons of twists, great characters and interesting moves from a structural standpoint. It's a very unique film and a very fantastic one.

A Satisfying Nail-Biting Psychological Thriller from Italy

[marielaperezsimons · 8/10 · 6 June 2011]

Fans of Alfred Hitchcock and followers of the more recent "Girl with a Dragon Tattoo" series, would likely be pleased with this nail-biting psychological thriller from Italy, which delivers many unexpected twists during its 96 minutes of running time.

If suspense isn't your cup of tea but you enjoy art films with non-linear and unpredictable plots, you'll probably end up drinking the whole pot of this satisfying brainteaser from newcomer director Giuseppe Capotondi.

"The Double Hour" is actually a love story between a lonely immigrant, Sonia (a chambermaid at a high-end hotel in Turin) and the also lonesome Guido, an ex-cop working as a security guard at an art dealer's estate. The two meet at a speed-dating event and just as they are beginning to fall in love, a crime happens, and their relationship is cut short.

But before that, during their first date, Guido looks at his watch, which marks 23:23, and he tells Sonia that it's a double hour and that she should make a wish. This detail early on, serves as a metaphor for the double life of the characters and the double storyline of the film you are about to embark on. And it's details such as this one that you need to pay attention to, because every one of them is important to decipher this riveting puzzler that won't let you get too comfortable in your seat.

Acted to perfection by Ksenia Rappoport and Filippo Timi "The Double Hour" is making its way quietly now through art-house theaters in the United States. Don't miss it!

Double Hour / Double Time

[ferguson-6 · 6/10 · 15 June 2011]

Greetings again from the darkness. Suspenseful thrillers, when well done, are just about as much fun as one can have at a theatre (unless you are Pee Wee Herman). The debut film from director Giusseppe Capotondi is very well acted, and pretty well written and filmed. It has some similarities to, but is not quite at the level of one of my Top 5 movies from 2008 - Tell No One.

Filmed in Italy (with English subtitles), the film does a terrific job of sucking us right in. Guido (Filippo Timi) and Sonia (Ksenrya Rappoport) meet at a speed dating event. He is a former cop now security guard, and she is a Slovenian immigrant working as a housekeeper at a swanky Italian hotel. Love blossoms for these two until the story takes a very dark turn. That's when all the twists and turns and misdirection begin.

Really not possible to talk too much about what happens, other than to say the characters and events aren't always what they seem. I really enjoyed the first two acts of the movie, but felt letdown a bit by the final act. Some of the visuals are very good, but the wrap up is just a bit disappointing. Still, the first 80 minutes or so are terrific and make the film worth watching.

Having Second Thoughts

[jadepietro · 6/10 · 1 June 2011]

This film is mildly recommended.

I miss Alfred Hitchcock. His films were carefully constructed thrillers that would rarely let the moviegoer down. His pacing, editing, camera angles, and most importantly, his script, kept logic intact while entertaining and building suspense. There were always concluding set pieces that became memorable parts of cinema history: a chase on Mount Rushmore, a runaway carousel, a fight aboard a high speed train, an attack of stark-raving mad ravens. As I sat watching the Italian import, The Double Hour, my thoughts yearned for his deft director's touch on this film's intriguing premise.

Directed by newcomer Giuseppe Capotondi, the film stars Kseniya Rappoport as Sonya and Flippo Timi as Guido, two lonely sorts who meet at a speed dating seminar. She works as a hotel maid and he is an ex-cop turned security guard and both sense a real instant connection there. That's the beginning of a complex labyrinth that held my complete interest for about three-fourth of the film's length.

This off-beat thriller that becomes more ominous and intriguing every second with plot twists and startling reveals in its intricate plotting. There are twists galore, some minor, some major, and I enjoyed the conceit of the filmmaker in toying with his audience.

Now I love a good mystery and this is one, that is, up until the last few minutes when the mystery unravels and so does all reasoning. Actions are so out of character with Sonya and Guido's arc that the film defies rationality. Incidents that occur in the beginning of the film become random thoughts and really have no bearing in the maze-like structure of the story. The final shot made little sense to me when trying to decode the scheme of events prior to that ending, leaving me with a bitter taste of regret. ( Plus, no memorable set piece is on display when one could have been added in the airport scene to full effect.)

The movie tagline for The Double Hour reads as follows: A Romance. A Robbery. A Mystery. All that is true, and for the most of the time, the film does successfully involve the moviegoer. But, unfortunately, the film ultimately disappoints in the last half hour of the film when all the logic gives way to a very unsatisfying ending.

Sadly, I felt double-crossed and cheated when the end credits rolled. Yes, Alfred would have ironed out all the plot kinks before filming this exasperating thriller. Why have your audience invest their time and emotions in all of the film's intricacies when your overly convoluted plot becomes the major obstacle to the mystery itself. The Double Hour is second rate Hitchcock at best. GRADE: B-

NOTE: Visit my movie blog for more reviews: www.dearmoviegoer.com

Not a cheap thriller

[JeanNicJ · 7/10 · 18 June 2011]

I left the movie theater with Polanski in mind. The early Polanski. The Tenant, Rosemary's Baby, and especially Repulsion. In fact, I suspect that the very last shot of the movie is a clin d'oeil to the last shot of Polanski's Repulsion. That shot is also similar to the end of Kubrick's The Shining, but the schizophrenic perspective on reality in The Double Hour is certainly closer to early-Polanski than Kubrick.

So this is not a cheap thriller. Many times I could feel my heart pounding and I covered my neck with my jacket. The entire movie is well worth seeing just for those (common) suspenseful scenes. The acting is also good, mainly because the characters are believable and fun to watch (for example, there is a Colombo-type cop that I was always happy to see coming back).

My only disappointment with The Double Hour is with the very last shot. The movie was ending in a simple way, a bit like Woody Allen's Match Point, but then the last shot appears and we start doubting over the whole thing (was Rosemary paranoid, or did she really give birth to the devil?) Overall a good movie that I would recommend. I would give 9 or 10/10 to the early Polanski movies, The Shining or other suspense movies like The Orphanage. This one had many weak scenes and the ending was a bit adolescent. Nevertheless, a good flick.

Foreign and fabulous

[letoya30 · 7/10 · 19 January 2011]

Now I don't watch too many Italian movies, especially not on a tuesday evening in a commercial theater. And that's obviously a giant shame, because sometimes there's a foreign flick that stands out and is definitely worth your free time.

La doppia ora (The double hour) contains the story of Sonia, a lonely woman looking for love in a devious speeddating bar. She actually does meet the interesting but remote Guido and the two strangers become two lovebirds. When Guido takes her up to his house in the forest to show her his work as a security agent, the house he's watching gets mugged. Both he and Sofia get shot and from then on strange things start to happen. In Sofia's surroundings people are committing suidice by the dozen and she starts to lose her mind. Guido, the only she trusts, is dead, or isn't he? La doppia ora is a smart, psychological thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat for 95 minutes. The camera angles in the scenes are just a little bit different than normal and the overall sounds are well applied. The acting is good and very natural. This all together makes La doppia ora a terrific foreign flick. I'm excited to see more of award winning director Giuseppe Capotondi. Italy scores!

First-rate suspense

[imdb-3022 · 8/10 · 14 September 2013]

This taut, splendidly acted and directed thriller knows how to play its audience. You can't help but want Sonia, a chambermaid whose life exhibits some bad karma, to pick lost-soul Guido out of the crowd at speed dating. Finally, something positive seems to go their way. But if so, why am I jumping at the least provocation, and what is making me feel so uneasy? Of course, it's a good kind of uneasy.

It's first-rate suspense. Every little detail seems to count, coming back later in the form of an I- get-it-now moment.

I don't know who their competitors were, but Filippo Timi and Kseniya Rappoport earned their best acting awards at the Venice Film Festival, as did the director Giuseppe Capotondi. Did they miss the deadline for submission into other film competitions? Did they forget to sign the forms? I can't understand why it didn't enter and win more accolades. It could have been an Oscar contender for foreign language film, it is that good.

Ultimately, so disappointing

[stemal-1 · 5/10 · 20 April 2015]

The first 60 minutes of The Double Hour were spellbinding. I knew next to nothing about the plot and so was gripped by the twists. It wrong-foots the viewer at every turn and compels you to continually revise your expectation of who's doing what to who, and why. You can't help but get involved with the character of Sonia, a magnetic performance from Kseniya Rappoport

Then, about an hour in, something happens that killed the film from then on for me. It slowly limped to its conclusion over the next half hour with little to match what had gone before.

And that's my main gripe. If this had been a mediocre film throughout I would not have bothered posting a review. I see enough of them that it's not worth 10 minutes of my time to comment on OK films.

The Double Hour sustained the promise of being great for a long time, and that wasted opportunity possibly unduly affected my overall view of the film. I suppose it sounds as though I'm saying I'd rather watch a completely average film than one that is two thirds great. Of course I wouldn't. But the plot device and the dull way in which The Double Hour plays out from then on makes it a frustrating experience.

Lynch-type thriller

[blanche-2 · 8/10 · 28 September 2014]

Kseniya Rappoport stars in "The Double Hour" (La Doppia Ora), a 2009 film.

Very reminiscent of David Lynch, the story concerns ex-cop Guido (Filippo Timi), who seems to be a chronic speed-dater. On this particular night, he meets someone he feels he can actually date, Sonia (Rappaport), who works as a hotel chambermaid. The relationship develops. However, as we slowly learn more and more about Sonia, she isn't all that she seems.

The plot isn't all that it seems, either, and as the film goes on, we see both dream and reality emerge.

Like Mulholland Drive, Lost Highway, and Cache, The Double Hour is a fascinating film, where things are not always as they seem, and what goes on underneath is far more interesting. Directed by Giuseppe Capotondi, if you're a fan of Lynch or Michael Heneke, you will enjoy this film.

if you're just getting into foreign thrillers, this is a good one to check out.

[witster18 · 7/10 · 4 January 2013]

EXTREMELY MILD SPOILERS - I don't give away much of anything, but looking at the fine print of the user-agreement leads me to this.

I've often made the argument that a film doesn't have to be "likable" to be good. This is great example.

This film has some extremely positive qualities. The acting is rather strong from what will most likely be complete unknowns(to American audiences anyway) - even though the lead male looks exactly like Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Javier Bardem... and his acting chops don't suffer much like you might expect given the comparison physically either... even though, let's be honest, nobody stands up well to Bardem.

"The DOuble Hour" also has as many twists as the top of a coat-hanger, and the audience is likely to guess and likely to be wrong on almost all of them. In hind-site, the twists actually make decent sense and add a nice depth and intrigue post-viewing.

Another impressive quality was in some of the cinematography and sound that really added to the "thrilling" nature of the film. I don't think it's spoiling much because these are just subtle tricks that some of the film-makers incorporated - so I'll mention a few.

There's one moment where a character feels like someone is watching over them, and there's just a sliver of color down the left bottom corner of the screen, and only for a split-second - it's a really well-done shot.

Another 'similar' scene is showing the same character in a similar position in bed, suffering the same phobia, picturing/dreaming themselves alone and then with their partner back-and-forth, and one quick shot in the middle of the character being shown alone(in one of the quick flashes), incorporates three hands near her face and it is also an extremely nice touch. Just another that kind-of separates this from your slightly above average foreign thriller.

Yet another occurs in a bathtub, and that scene has nice visuals(although they've been done before in similar scenes), AND each of these three shots uses some nice audio tricks.

I'll compare this to another foreign thriller that I watched on the same day in case you've seen it. I also ranked "the Hidden Face" a 7(67/100), but I would say "the Double Hour" here is about as strong of a 7(74.4/100) as possible. This is a clear notch above even though they score the same on IMDb for me.

Given the number one reason the film will get sub-par ratings is the genre-bending nature of the story and the unlikable characters themselves - the film actually covers it's bases quite well, and their actions fit their characters back-story to-a-tea. There's little to no problems with plausibility(or the ending) here, but people don't like to be wrong.

I'd assume that will be the number one criticism of this film, and I believe it to be unjustified. This film has quite literally grown on me every hour since viewing it.

Recommended.

You'll like this if you liked: Headhunters(better), The Hidden Face(not as good), or Point Blank(not as good).

Thanks for reading.

No Idea

[jordan2240 · 3/10 · 14 December 2020]

All I can say about this film is that it ultimately made no sense to me whatsoever. Perhaps I'm just not smart enough for it, so go ahead and watch it and judge for yourself. If, at the end, you feel like you've completely wasted your time, then we're in the same boat, and I apologize for not having prevented you from watching it.

Twenty four hour clock

[jotix100 · 7/10 · 13 October 2012]

Sonia, a chambermaid working in an upscale Turin hotel, gets the shock of her life as she enters to make the room of a young woman. Sonia insists in coming back later, but the girl assures her it is fine to clean the room. While doing the bathroom, Sonia hears a sound, goes to the room and through the open window she watches the dead guest ling on a roof in a pool of blood.

Sonia, a single woman from Slovenia, frequents a place where unattached people go to meet others. The talks between prospective partners are timed, so the last person Sonia chats with is Guido, a widower recovering from the death of his wife. It is clear Sonia and Guido like each other, as they decide to go to his place for sex. Passing a digital clock displaying time in the twenty four hour fashion, Guido sees it is 23.23, a magical time in which to make a wish. We never get to know what his desire was.

The attraction between Guido and Sonia is evident. He is a private security guard overseeing a country estate. Deciding to take Sonia to spend some time with him, they are surprised by a group of robbers who have brought a truck to steal the contents of the palace-like place. Overpowering Guido and Sonia, the man in charge, makes a move which indicates he recognizes her. When a shot is fired, Guido is killed and the bullet graces Sonia's forehead.

"La doppia ora", directed by Giuseppe Capotondi, is not an easy film to sit through because it demands the viewer's full attention. This Italian film who was a favorite in the Venice film festival, deserves a second viewing in order to get all the clues that are so subtly placed within the narrative. The screenplay was a collaboration between Alessandro Fabri, Ludovica Rampoldi and Stefano Sardo.

Much of the confusion a casual viewer will experiment stems from what is in Sonia's mind after she falls into a coma-like state at the hospital. As she visits Guido's grave, there is a funeral taking place in which a priest looks at the passing Sonia, as though recognizing her and later on, turning up again in her neighborhood and on another occasion. The screenplay mixes genres. Clarity was not in the mind of the writers, or in Mr. Capotondi while the film was being shot. It is a film that relies more on the different styles to create the thriller atmosphere.

Ksenia Rappoport, the Russian actress, makes an excellent impression of her Sonia. She never disappoints as the mystery surrounding her makes her contribution to the film more exciting. Handsome Filippo Timi is wonderful as Guido. There is good chemistry between the two stars to create the passion and suspense that keeps this film going. Tad Ratcliffe's photography is right on target as well as Pasquale Catalano's musical score. Giuseppe Capotondi's film debut impresses.

Perfect film noire

[filmalamosa · 10/10 · 17 May 2012]

A twisting plot beware! took me by delighted surprise. What you think is horror movie turns into gangster film noire.

Oddly enough last night I watched Hollow Victory which is a great film noire from 1949---suspend your disbelief and watch it too. I was thinking if only Hollywood would allow one bad guy to win in the end. Nope. You have to get a cynical European to make movies like this.

Back to this movie. It succeeded in making my hair stand on end a couple times. Then when you are allowed to figure out what is going on you start guessing. The ending is good.

This one makes my list of highly recommended. Intelligent adult entertainment.

pretty woman with a black heart

[amirborgheie · 3/10 · 5 June 2011]

i think this movie is so fuzzy and vague. i, personally detest the woman that has a beautiful face but with a black heart full of lie, just using man with a simple and decent love for attaining money and run away . you can't sympathy with the woman but so sympathetic about man and beautiful love of the man. a kind of unreality in going in and out of reality .it is far to believe that kind of story in real. the director do abstinence from using pornographic images . we can say it is not a film with hidden strings that catch the view of watcher . Sonia is pretty but we can say is without that warm which is needed for this film. i think the man is more better actor than the lead character Sonia. the atmosphere of the film is good but in total it is not a great and adorable movie.

The key word is double

[aharmas · 9/10 · 16 May 2011]

It seems we have to get out of the States to see Noir cinema again, to be able to get that corrosive and disturbing feeling that appears to be the essence of a good mystery. In a world populated by individuals with lives that are full of mystery and characters flaws. It is a requirement of good film noir that no one is perfect. This become painfully obvious from the first frames, as we observe how even love might never be anything but flawed, feeble attempts at meeting the right person.

The two main characters are introduced in a club where simple dates, relationships might develop. It's because of the director's sure hand, the writer's clever development of the story, and primarily an amazing set of lead performers that don't mind being led in impossible directions as we unravels the mystery.

Two souls find love in the unlikeliest of places. They get to know each hesitantly. In a very ironic twist, lives are destroyed, literally and psychologically. This even before the end of the first act, when before mysteries are revealed, there is much to learn and try to understand.

What are we witness to? a clueless group of people who might or not be involved some organized group, or is it just someone's hyperactive activity? Or is it just an old-fashioned ghost story? We take the same twisting turns in the movie we are watching. We pick a favorite, and we hope she or he is not involved with the masterminds who orchestra the murder of a policeman.

It is challenging, frustrating, and a bit long, it keeps us watching, and we haven't seen this kind of pull in a movie for a long time.

Italian award winner lost something in the translation.

[Quietb-1 · 5/10 · 17 May 2011]

Rappaport gives a good performance and she is easy to watch. She looks like a foreign film star not a chambermaid.

The subtitles are a problem. They are often white script over a white background and impossible to read. Scary moments are complete with a loud annoying music score.

Who was that first girl out the window and why? The robbery was so well planned and choreographed, seems like the clever thieves could have handled one security guard without the convoluted charade that sets up the entire movie.

The movie has been around since 2009 so it unlikely it will be in a theater near you soon. You're more likely to catch it on cable or DVD. If you watch it tired you are likely to dose off. A couple of good twists, but a major cop-out story device makes this unsatisfying.

Sharp Foreign Suspense

[samkan · 8/10 · 7 April 2012]

Very clever plot, plot twists and no preposterous, unguessable ending but a real one, whether you like what happens or not. There is hardly a wasted moment in this film but what is most remarkable is how believable the characters and circumstances are yet become no less believable when everything is turned on its head. I found myself asking questions throughout that became promptly answered by a new event or circumstance. This curiosity, answer seeking, followed by resolution, rather than being annoying, was very enjoyable. The hard-boiled investigating cop, though a stereotypical character, plot devise, etc., was very good. I hope good, tight, intelligent films like this will always be made.

Overrated and incoherent

[jkarp · 5/10 · 23 April 2011]

Yes, the film is suspenseful and competently acted. The lead is is attractive and sympathetic. But like so many thrillers the plot doesn't stand up to scrutiny. It has more holes than Blackburn Lancashire. More important, it is psychologically implausible. So the film manages to be both suspenseful and frustrating and the viewer keeps holding on in the desperate hope that it will redeem the investment of enduring being manipulated by it by offering some sort of satisfying resolution (not to be confused with a happy or phony "Hollywood" style ending). No such luck. You leave the theater feeling used. I go to see these Italian (and French) films in the hope that the former spirit of great filmmaking will be revived. Unfortunately, I haven't seen even a good, let alone great, Italian film since the best days of Roberto Benigni.

Wandering Through a Fascinating Imbroglio of a Plot

[gradyharp · 8/10 · 1 January 2012]

THE DOUBLE HOUR (LA DOPPIA ORA) is a maze of a film, one of those films that seem to have a straightforward storyline until suddenly what has been happening in front of our eyes is not at all the real story. The script by Alessandro Fabbri, Ludovica Rampoldi and Stefano Sardo is smart, clever in a Hitchcockian way,and succeeds in keeping us on the periphery of a fascinating tale. This is Giuseppe Capotondi's first film as a director and it gives notice of a new talent on the horizon.

The setting is Turin. Sonia (gifted and stunningly beautiful Russian actress Kseniya Rappoport) works as a chambermaid in an elegant hotel and in the opening scene she witnesses the suicide of the woman whose room she is cleaning. Apparently distraught by the incident she seeks refuge in a speed dating club run by the mysterious Marisa (Lucia Poli) who watches carefully as Sonia encounters the club's most frequent attendee, former cop Guido (Filippo Timi). Both Sonia and Guido are cautious about involvement but eventually they leave Turin for a country weekend getaway. Guido is serving as a security guard for a wealthy Italian, but the house is empty and Guido turns off the security system. While the two are having an amorous tryst the house is invaded by thieves who steal everything and shoot Guido, grazing Sonia with a bullet. Events occur that are not as they seem and Sonia's strange past is relived before our eyes - or is what we are seeing the effects of Sonia being in a coma after the shooting? To say more would be to deprive the viewer of the very strange twists and turns this story takes until the final few minutes of the film when the audience realizes they have been part of the charade.

Kseniya Rappoport won the Best Actress award in the 2009 Venice Film Festival for the complex and multifaceted performance she offers in this film. The supporting cast is excellent with Filippo Timi being particularly talented in holding together an impossible to believe character study. The musical score by Pasquale Catalano and the cinematography by Tat Radcliffe add immeasurably to the film. For those who appreciate challenging plots and superb writing this film will surely satisfy.

Grady Harp

Too clever by half

[hof-4 · 5/10 · 11 September 2020]

The basic plot is sound; Sonia (a Slovenian immigrant) and Guido (an ex-policeman) meet and connect at a speed dating event, they start a relationship, then an unexpected happening changes everything, including what we know (or seem to know) about the characters and their motivations. Unfortunately, the script throws in a number of unnecessary red herrings and intentional misdirections. Some of them are just distractions, some are not even explained at the end, at least one is not explainable. Not a good thing in this kind of movie.

On the positive side, direction by Giuseppe Capotondi is fluid and dynamic, acting is excellent with special mention for Russian actress Kseniya Rappoport, who is on screen most of the time. One cannot avoid feeling that if the script had been edited and unnecessary complications pared down this could have been a first rate movie. As it is, one remains unconvinced and feels manipulated at the end.

Argentine nostalgics will enjoy a photographic view of Puerto Madero, one of the touristy spots in Buenos Aires.

Completely implausible and unintelligent

[boneman4 · 2/10 · 16 May 2011]

My first complaint is that the subtitles were not infrequently "white on white" making them unreadable and preventing understanding of a convoluted plot that required full concentration.Aside from that,even one fluent in Italian would have difficulty making any sense out of this plot that would require imagination far beyond the Lynchian productions.The example of robbing a facility with such valuable material and such minimal security is absurd.Even Inspector Clouseau could have solved this crime. The psychological and surrealistic portions were misplaced and offered little.I will admit that the acting was good, especially the principals. Ksenia Rappaport is a very watchable actress and could be a benefit in an otherwise well constructed film. In its present state however, I cannot recommend it.

The Acting Outpaces the Story

[chaz-28 · 5/10 · 21 June 2011]

The Double Hour feels hollow. There are elements involved which if properly connected, could lead to a well constructed film, but they aren't. I do not want to give too much of the plot away because a certain level of secrecy is necessary to enjoy it instead of waiting for pre-planned twists. After seeing this film, I read the reviews of particular critics and most of them kept the secrets, that is, except for Stephen Holden of the New York Times. If you read his review before seeing The Double Hour, there would be absolutely no need to sit through it because he gives the entire thing away; the jig is up.

Sonia is a hotel chambermaid in Turin, Italy. She is routinely morose, most likely from something in her past and the fact that she is strikingly lonely. To help her find a friend or more, she tries speed dating and is strikes up a friendship with Guido, an ex-cop who is still trying to define his widower status three years after the fact. Sonia and Guido take baby steps towards the semblance of a relationship until their lives are drastically altered during a robbery. This is where my plot description stops. Revealing too much of a film noir thriller does nothing for the eventual audience except take away their guessing games during the film.

The couple's relationship and their back and forth interactions are surprisingly effective. Both actors playing Sonia and Guido received best acting honors at the Venice Film Festival, but the somewhat non-congruous film and choppy supernatural elements do not match their acting standard. The director and screenwriters show a lot of future promise, but the Double Hour just misses the mark. To explain the title, a double hour is particular time of day when the clock matches, such as 12:12. It is said that wishes sometime come true at a double hour.

Cheap Tricks

[skepticskeptical · 5/10 · 30 April 2020]

I am always up for a good thriller. The problem with this one is that it seriously breaks the proverbial Fourth Wall. A big chunk of the action takes place in the head of a coma victim, though the viewer does not find out until near the end of the film.

Creativity is a good thing, but a degree of plausibility must be present in order for a thriller to succeed. In this case, we know from the actions of the Filippo Timi character that he is prone to anger. Would he just ¨let it drop¨ when he finds out that he has been duped--seduced, and more seriously, nearly murdered in the process? I do not believe so. A very different sort of character might have walked away, but the early scene of him treating another woman horribly would have had to be omitted to make the ending at all plausible.

Another plausibility problem for La doppia ora is that the coma dreams are *of* the coma victim. Do people dream of themselves in that sort of third-person way? Or are not the subjects of a dream usually the dreamer herself, in which case none of the dream sequences should have shown anything but others from her perspective, unless of course she happened to be looking in a mirror.

Italiano Crapola

[buzzbruin · 1/10 · 15 May 2011]

If this was not a foreign movie it would be subject to ridicule and laughing. The audience I was with hated it. The plot was the worst I have seen in a so-called "thriller"--IT MADE NO SENSE WHATSOEVER!! There were no way you could figure what time it was, whether a scene was real or a dream, the men were not identifiable because they all looked the same slightly built and with horrible beards. The idea that any women would be attracted by any of them is absurd. Most of the scenes made no sense whatsoever. The plot line was the worst. I wouldn't worry about plot spoilers since the movie makes no sense. Anybody who found this film exciting or "riveting" was short of sleep and had poor concentration. There is no excuse for this film. It stinks. Don't go near it.