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Herald rating: * * * *
Making a welcome return on general release, the opening-night attraction of the Italian Film Festival is a superbly judged series of four interwoven vignettes that add up to a very charming compendium of romantic comedy. The stories purport to illustrate the manual of the title - a series of audio books designed to ease the heartache for someone suffering any of love's mixed fortunes - but since that manual appears as a plot device, and since the main character in each episode has a bit part in another, there's a playful intertextuality going on.
Each of the sections explores a different stage of love's labours: awkward Tommaso (Muccino) is an unorthodox but persistent suitor for the love of the uncertain Giulia (Trinca); Barbara (Buy) and Marco (Rubini) wonder how to deal with a marriage that has lost its spark; in the funniest sequence, Ornella (Littizzetto), a stroppy parking warden, dreams up a novel form of revenge for her husband's betrayal; and finally Goffredo (Verdone), a successful doctor, has to deal with having been abandoned by his wife.
The film was a monster hit and prolific award-winner in Italy, where a sequel is in production. And its appeal is understandable: snappily written, breezily directed and bursting with winning performances, this is as light and refreshing as a Campari spritzer.
Cast: Carlo Verdone, Luciana Littizzetto, Silvio Muccino, Sergio Rubini, Margherita Buy, Jasmine Trinca
Director: Giovanni Veronesi
Running time: 116 minutes
Rating: M (sex scenes, offensive language) Screening: Bridgeway, Rialto
Verdict: Four vignettes, each looking at a different aspect of love, make up a light and very charming Italian romantic comedy.
