On the occasion of the Masterclass that Kevin Spacey will hold in the Aula del Tempio of the Mole Antonelliana on January 16, the Massimo offers an extensive tribute with the best-known films interpreted by the American actor, winner of two Academy Awards, for The usual suspectswho launched it, and for American Beauty.
Sam Mendes
American Beauty
(Usa 1999, 122′, HD, col., ov sub.it.)
“Unsettling, unnerving, indefinable, American Beauty, a quirky and disturbing insight into modern American life, enlivened by the excellent performances of Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening, is a blood-curdling dark comedy with unexpected moments of both violence and warmth, a strange, meditative and complete film that it will fascinate from the very first frames” (Kenneth Turan). Academy Award to Kevin Spacey.
Mon 16, h. 8.30 pm Sala Uno – admission €7.50/5.00 – The film is introduced by Kevin Spacey
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Monday 16 January 2023 – Aula del Tempio, 6.30 pm / Cinema Massimo, 8.30 pm
Chameleonic protagonist of contemporary world cinema, Kevin Spacey he is indisputably among the most talented and acclaimed actors of his generation. The National Cinema Museum is pleased to pay homage to the award-winning actor who, throughout his career, has given a memorable face to complex, enigmatic and dynamic roles such as, among the countless, that of his very famous Frank Underwood in the popular series House of Cards.
Twice Oscar Prize for American Beauty and The usual suspects, Kevin Spacey – who shot to worldwide fame with a series of 90s classics like Se7en, LA Confidential, Glengarry Glen Ross and The Negotiator – will be the protagonist of a highly anticipated Masterclasses, Monday 16 January 2023 at 18.30 in the Hall of the Temple of Mole Antonelliana and at 20.30 to the Cinema Massimo (Room One), will introduce the vision of American Beauty by Sam Mendes.
In dialogue with the director of the Museum Domenico De Gaetano, Kevin Spacey will recall the most important stages of his career and his numerous characters that the public knows by name, from Keyzer Söze to John Doe, via Jack Vincennes, Lester Burnham, Mel Profitt and Lex Luthor. The event is curated by Marco Fallanca.
At the end of the meeting Kevin Spacey will receive the Star of the Moleas recognition for having made a personal aesthetic and authorial contribution to the development of dramatic art with his filmography.
David Fincher
Se7en
(Usa 1995, 127′, HD, col., ov sub.it.)
“Seven deadly sins, seven murders that a psychopath plans, accompanied by heinous torture. He begins with gluttony and avarice, continues with sloth. The last is lust, but the intervention of two detectives, one old and black, the other young and white, forces him to change the plan. A film with an expressionist slant, set in a nameless city, full of literary quotations and without a scene of violence, of which only the consequences are visible. A nice cast in which Kevin Spacey stands out ”. (Morando Morandini)
Tue 17, h. 15.45
Curtis Hanson
LA Confidential
(Usa 1997, 137′, HD, col., ov sub.it.)
“The world of LA Confidential is that of James Ellroy: hard, black, bloody, corrupt. But in Hanson’s film, Ellroy’s stories and hard and overflowing language are translated into a snappy and energetic staging, which treads the pedal of irony and quotation and loses the feeling of desperation and madness typical of the writer’s world. It is a brilliant genre film, with a beautiful period reconstruction, splendid cinematography by Dante Spinotti, and a remarkable team of actors: Kim Basinger, Kevin Spacey and Danny De Vito”. (Irene Bignardi)
Wed 18, h. 16.00
James Foley
Americans (Glengarry Glen Ross)
(Usa 1992, 101′, HD, col., ov sub.it.)
Tough times for a small Chicago real estate agency. Management has an idea: The agent with the most sales at the end of the month will win a Cadillac Eldorado. For the runner-up, a set of kitchen knives. Third prize with equal merit for all the others: dismissal. The hunt for the customer is unleashed among the agents. With Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Alan Arkin, Ed Harris and Kevin Spacey. Written by David Mamet.
Wed 18, h. 18.30
Alan Parker
The Life of David Gale
(Usa 2001, 131′, HD, col., ov sub.it.)
While in prison awaiting the day of his execution, David Gale (Kevin Spacey), once an esteemed professor of philosophy and activist in an anti-death penalty movement, gets permission to give an interview to journalist Bitsey (Kate Winslet ). Gale tells her that he has not raped or killed her friend Costance, that he is indeed the victim of a conspiracy to denounce which he now intends to tell how the events really took place.
Fri 20, h. 16.00
JC Chandor
Margin Call
(Usa 2011, 106′, HD, col., ov sub.it.)
“The last 24 hours of an investment bank in the 2008 crisis, the view from the bridge from the Wall Street skyscraper: a file announces bankruptcy and the last chance begins, a race against time and people. Cynicism galore (like The thirst for power by Wise), in the story written very well, with the flavor of the theater and directed by JC Chandor, very well informed on the facts. Clockwork rhythm, also moral, 17 days of filming on the 42nd floor with a fantastic cast (Spacey, Irons, Moore, Bettany): finally anti-fantasy”. (Maurizio Porro)
Fri 20, h. 18.30
Bryan Singer
The usual suspects
(Usa 1995, 105′, HD, col., ov sub.it.)
A group of crime professionals is hired by a mysterious client for a heist that will yield an entire ship’s worth of cocaine. At the head of the gang is the mysterious Kaiser Soze, more evil than the devil, perhaps the devil himself. In a mix of violence and mysteries, the detective tries to unravel the skein by listening to a “repentant” and all the components die. The Soze mystery, however, is (in part) revealed.
Sat 21, h. 16.00
Lisa Johnson
Elvis & Nixon
(Usa 2016, 86′, HD, col., ov sub.it.)
December 21, 1970. Elvis Presley (Michael Shannon), the king of rock’n’roll, enters the Oval Room of the White House for a secret meeting with the most powerful man in the world: President Nixon (Kevin Spacey). The confidential interview had been requested by Presley with a six-page letter that began as follows: “Dear Mr. President, first of all I would like to introduce myself, I am Elvis Presley, I admire you, I have a lot of respect for your office and I would like to become a government agent under cover!”. This is the absurd true story, never told before, of the incredible meeting between Elvis and Nixon destined to enter history forever.
Sun 22, h. 20.45
Lasse Hallstrom
The Shipping News – Shadows from the depths
(Usa 2001, 111′, HD, col., ov sub.it.)
After losing his wife in a car accident and struggling with a not very successful professional period, an unassuming New York journalist, Quoyle (Kevin Spacey), returns with his daughter and aunt to the small fishing town where he grew up. Killick-Claw, on the coast of Newfoundland, mainly to find himself. Having secured a job at a small local newspaper, he begins to write stories of the sea that are much appreciated by members of the community.
Mon 23, h. 16.00