So Italian, as with every film by Paolo Sorrentino. The story compresses the last six months of a presidency into three actions, but it is the loneliness of old age that is the subject with the existential question, “who owns our days?” Beautifully acted and shot in a wide-screen format that surrounds every figure with the air of Rome.

A family’s repressed feelings, anger issues and bad legal choices following the death of their son are resolved by therapy and play-acting. The plot, as presented, is manipulative and schmaltzy, more community theater than Sentimental Value.

Four days, four events, shows how rich the cultural life can be in our small city.
Friday we attended a preview of Marty Supreme, sponsored by the Film Society at the Riviera Theater, with co-star Gwyneth Paltrow interviewed afterward. (The movie was awful.)
Saturday the Museum of Art hosted an interview with the premier Monet scholar Paul Tucker, pegged to its show of Impressionist art from Dallas and its own collection. (This was entertaining and enthralling.)
Sunday was a country music concert at the Arlington, sponsored by UCSB’s Arts & Lectures series, headlined by Molly Tuttle with opening acts by Meels and Kaitlin Butts. (Disappointing.)
Monday we attended the digital presentation of the National Theatre’s camp production of The Importance of Being Earnest at the New Vic Theater. (Really terrible.)
We happen to be major supporters of all four presenting organizations, for which we are proud. It’s only too bad that for three of these events I would rather have been watching football.