Diciannove Review: Highs & Lows of Being 19

Giovanni Tortorici’s unique approach to the coming-of-age drama is admirable, but the lack of character development causes Diciannove to meander aimlessly.

The night before Leonardo, also known as Lele to his sister, heads to London from Palermo for university, he wakes up to a bad nosebleed. Blood and other red gunk pour into the sink, and he even tells his mother the next morning that he thought he might have “bled to death.” It’s a comment that shows not just his exaggerated, melodramatic nature—as countless 19-year-olds will have—but also the dangerous and new experiences he is about to be a part of. Upon arriving in London, he heads straight to his sister Arianna (Vittoria Planeta) and her friend Grazia’s (Dana Giuliano, Never Too Late) flat. The trio head out for an alcohol-fuelled, hormone-driven night of partying.

The first issues with Diciannove can be seen as early as this. It feels accurate in its depiction of such a night of clubbing for students, but already certain stylistic choices lessen the impact. Slow-motion and quick zooms are immature in their inclusion, whilst haphazard editing and certain shots, such as a needle on the street, feel unearned in their use and devoid of any deeper meaning. There is certainly a bold filmmaker behind the camera in Tortorici, and the potential is clear, but in Diciannove, the implementation of various cinematic techniques only serve to weaken the film.

After sticking it out in London for a very short time, Leonardo heads to Siena to study literature, where he becomes somewhat of a recluse and spends all his time in his room, even buying a portable hob so he doesn’t have to use the shared kitchen. It is at this point that Diciannove becomes less jarring and more insufferable. This annoying angle is surely representative of Leonardo, who, like most 19-year-olds, thinks he knows best and loves to list famous authors and reel off quotes to sound more intelligent. As truthful as this is, it doesn’t make for an enjoyable or even enjoyably challenging watch.

The protagonists in the best coming-of-age dramas, such as The 400 Blows (1959) and Lady Bird (2017), are always flawed, but there is also a depth and complexity to them as people that makes the films so interesting. Diciannove and its lead do not have this, which causes it to become less of a thorny exploration of adolescence, and more of an aimless and boring journey into vapidness. Nevertheless, Marini is impressive and commands the screen throughout Diciannove, and he, along with Tortorici, captures the striking sadness of Leonardo very well. Unfortunately, this emotional depth is only a flicker, and whilst it speaks to promising futures in film for Tortorici and Marini, it also represents the shallowness of Diciannove.

Diciannove will be released in select US theatres on July 25, 2025.