‘Sicilian Letters’ Review: Toni Servillo and Elio Germano Correspond in a Bloodless Mafia Manhunt Drama
variety.comJessica Kiang Though doubtless a crucial aspect of many of the most dramatic occurrences in human history, letter-writing is not the most cinematic of activities.
And so it unfortunately proves once again in Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza‘s “Sicilian Letters,” a heavily fictionalized riff on a real-life mafia tale, which sets up a battle of wits between a ruthless mob boss and the family friend working with the authorities to bring him down, but struggles to maintain any kind of momentum when the duel is merely a case of epistles-at-dawn.
Elio Germano plays Matteo, a character based on notorious Sicilian mafioso Matteo Messina Denaro who was the subject of a 30-year manhunt which only ended in 2023 when he was finally caught.
Toni Servillo (“The Great Beauty,” “Loro”) plays invented character Catello Polumbo, whose correspondence with Matteo gets the authorities closer to his apprehension than ever before.
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