In The Hand Of Dante: Film Review

In The Hand Of Dante is a scattered, confounding drama whose multiple genres and tones clash with each other without purpose.

With a narrative that’s split across two different timelines, In The Hand of Dante centers around an intricate criminal conspiracy to steal an original manuscript of Dante Alighieri’s “The Divine Comedy”, one of the most important pieces of literature ever written. In the present day, Oscar Isaac plays an academic journalist named Nick Tosches, who finds himself roped into this scheme thanks to his professional expertise. In the past, he plays Dante Alighieri himself, who searches for meaning in a world that neither understands nor welcomes him.

There are lots of problems with In The Hand of Dante, but perhaps the most difficult obstacle to overcome is the dense, ostentatious screenplay that’s filled with empty ideas and no way of getting them across effectively. There are moments where the film truly feels like it’s onto something, linking the pain and torment of Alighieri’s literature to the universal search for meaning in an inherently meaningless world – but just when it gets close, the narrative completely ditches this interesting thread for a barrage of hollow imagery and overly written monologues.

It also doesn’t help that In The Hand of Dante’s two timelines have almost nothing to do with each other. The present-day story plays out almost like a Soderbergh or Hitchcock thriller, taking the characters on a globetrotting journey to steal important documents and take out anybody who stands in their way. But Alighieri’s timeline is the polar opposite – a slow, meandering drama that ponders the meaning of existence through the lens of a dull, familiar romance. Both of these stories have their own merits – though neither truly capitalizes on them – but together, they create such a disorienting tonal dissonance that ruins the entire film.

At more than 150 minutes in length, In The Hand of Dante does nothing to make its gruelling runtime go any faster. The film spends almost 30 minutes simply introducing the present-day characters, making the inexplicable decision to present them all separately before bringing them together for the main story. When they do unite, their scheme is explained in painstaking detail by John Malkovich’s narration – removing all the mystery of the story and simply telling the viewer everything they’re about to see.

There are admittedly a handful of moments where it feels like In The Hand of Dante could do something interesting with its story, utilizing the dynamic between Oscar Isaac and Gerard Butler to subvert the typical “action hero” dynamic that it employs in the beginning. But every time this possibility arises, the film seems determined to slaughter any existing momentum by jumping back in time and focusing on a dull, lifeless romance instead.

There’s a sense of self-reflection in Schnabel’s film, as though it’s sometimes aware of how unconventional it’s being – but this only appears in certain moments. The modern timeline sometimes feels like it’s parodying the action genre, with its over-the-top twists and exaggerated character tropes – but this awareness is totally absent from the other half of the story. This creates even more confusion among the audience, who’s never exactly sure whether they’re supposed to be laughing – they just know that they are.

Considering how much talent was involved in the film, In The Hand of Dante is a confounding misfire – an inexplicable patchwork of ideas and styles that never come together into a complete whole. There are traces of interesting ideas layered deep within the film’s endless monologues and unnatural character interactions, but it requires some undeniable willpower to dig them out.

In The Hand of Dante had its World Premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 3, 2025.