There are few films this year as ambitious as director Julian Schnabel’s In the Hand of Dante. Combining manuscript mystery, gangster thriller and spiritual odyssey, the film moves between medieval Italy and the 21st-century criminal underworld in pursuit of questions about creativity, faith, power and redemption.
This film is a big, gutsy gamble. Casting a heavily costumed Martin Scorsese in an acting role with overwrought philosophical dialogue was always going to be a risk. Your enjoyment of it will hinge on your ability to tolerate its tonal dissonance. At various points it functions as a black comedy, an earnest exploration of art and its creation, a spiritual romance and a gangster thriller. Schnabel appears determined to make all four at once.
