'Don't hang up', a high-tension telephone thriller

The rules of lockdown and quarantine become a decidedly strong thriller matrix in this nocturnal and mysterious film, almost all set inside a car and written during the pandemic period.

While the subject matter may remind one of a very good film like Steven Knight's 'Locke' from 2013, in which Tom Hardy receives an unexpected phone call while in his car, the dramaturgical structure of 'Don't Hang Up' is solid and manages to intrigue, although as the minutes go by, the 'twists' seem too predictable.

Despite a few phoned-in narrative twists, the aesthetics of the feature film are well-crafted, managing to keep the tension high right to the end and demonstrating Lucibello's talent for constructing compelling stories even with few means at his disposal.

A great added value is the excellent performance by Barbara Ronchi: the Roman actress, fresh from her well-deserved Nastro D'Argento for her performance in Marco Bellocchio's splendid 'Rapito', gives another convincing performance in an undoubtedly complicated role.

Also worth mentioning, however, is the equally important work done by Claudio Santamaria, who lends his voice to the character of Pietro.

Also among the week's new releases is 'Fly Me to the Moon', a film by Greg Berlanti starring Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson.

Set in the 1960s, during the space race between the US and the Soviet Union, this romantic comedy is about a marketing wunderkind, hired to boost NASA's public image, who clashes with the launch programme director, wreaking havoc on her already difficult task. When the White House believes the mission is too important to fail, she is assigned to stage a fake moon landing as a back-up plan. At that point the countdown really begins.

A pleasant feature film with a vintage style, 'Fly Me to the Moon' is a sufficiently well-crafted film in terms of form and rhythm, but one that suffers from too much superficiality in dealing with a reflection on truth and fiction that would have deserved a very different kind of in-depth study.

The social and political side of the story, the one that is potentially most interesting, is overpowered by a typical rom-com that is quite enjoyable, but at the same time banal and lacking in depth.

The Tatum-Johansson duo demonstrates discreet harmony, although they too play on cliché-laden acting incapable of any great flare.

The title refers to the beautiful song of the same name written by Bart Howard in 1954 and made famous with Quincy Jones' rearrangement and Frank Sinatra's vocals a decade later.