I'm all for big swings. I like it when a film really tries for something bold. But sometimes those swings miss and In the Hand of Dante is a pretty big miss. I admire it for trying but I'm sorry to say it does not land this plane.
In the Hand of Dante is a mystery mixed with mob film, mixed with historical epic, mixed with romance, and none of it really works. Most of the time you are just reminded of much better films that do what it is trying to do much better. Its attempts at witty, audacious banter feel cringey instead of clever. Its gratuitous violence is missing the sort of playfulness to make it cartoony and missing the sort of gravitas to make it impactful. It is lacking the connectivity to make its two timelines work together to create something bigger than the two halves.
Again I'll give credit to the cast for trying. No one phones it in here. It is just that what they are working with doesn't give them the chance to shine. There is an overall sense that there is a big, consequantial movie somewhere in this story and this just isn't it.
In the Hand of Dante
Starring: Oscar Isaac, Gal Gadot, Gerard Butler, John Malkovich, Louis Cancelmi, Sabrina Impacciatore, Benjamin Clementine, Martin Scorsese, Al Pacino, Jason Momoa
Director: Julian Schnabel
Writers: Louise Kugelberg, Julian Schnabel
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