Amanda (2022) easily fits the canon of girlhood in film as established by
Virgin Suicides (1999) and
Ghost World (2001), but also echoes the listless coming-of-age exploration of
Les Quatre Cents Coups (1959). A character study, the film follows its eponymous protagonist, while Amanda (played by
Benedetta Porcaroli) stumbles through life with the wide-eyed grace of newborn Bambi. The setting is that of a town in northern Italy, with the narrative taking to the streets, stopping under a bypass for a rave party, making observations in the darkness of a cinema theatre, and at the dinner table of an aloof bourgeois family.
What sets Amanda apart from the aforementioned pictures is the age of the heroine: twenty-four. As she is continuously reminded by her family, by now Amanda really should know how to make friends, or pay for her own place, or get a grasp on life. In the course of the narrative, it becomes apparent that her inexperience is not for a lack of trying - yet, her very nature is often at odds with her ambitions.
In the aftermath of the pandemic, this story of loneliness, of characters whose lives often shrink to the size of their bedrooms, of overthinking and interruptions, of one's most candid relationship being with the virtual assistant that lives in your phone - all of that has become relatable to audiences for whom the experiences would otherwise remain foreign. On par with
Marcel, le Coquillage (avec ses chaussures) (2021), Amanda is among the most considered explorations of forced solitude, such as those exist in the 2020s.
Friendship, romance, family, and self-determination are examined in
Carolina Cavalli's directorial debut with a lot of style, thought, and humour. Much like in life, no conclusions are offerred, but the film creates an engrossing atmoshere and plenty of suggestions. Music choices and casting (so many interesting faces!) are noteworthy, as are the performances by
Monica Nappo as Sofia, Amanda's mother, and Benedetta Porcaroli, who lends her force and charm to the protagonist.
If the real treasure is the friends we make along the way, Amanda makes a convincing argument about the value of relationships that do not happen: they inform our other choices. That may seem wistful, but the film skillfully balances its meditative quality with the unrelenting optimism of its heroine, for whom all roads remain open.
