La Notte
Movie, 1961, Named by critics, Set in Second in the trilogy
La Notte is #2 of 48 in release order and #26 of 48 in chronological order in the Spiritual Trilogies.
The story
A day in the life of an unfaithful married couple and their steadily deteriorating relationship in Milan.
La Notte recap
In Milan the novelist Giovanni Pontano and his wife Lidia visit their friend Tommaso, who is dying in a hospital. Lidia leaves upset; Giovanni lingers and is pulled into a kiss by a disturbed young patient, which he later tells Lidia about and she shrugs off. That afternoon Giovanni attends a launch for his new book while Lidia wanders the city alone, through the outskirts where they used to live. In the evening they go to a nightclub, and Lidia keeps hinting there is something she needs to say. They move on to an all-night party at the villa of the industrialist Gherardini, who offers Giovanni a well-paid job. Giovanni flirts with and kisses Gherardini's daughter Valentina; Lidia learns by phone that Tommaso has died and drives off with another guest, Roberto, but refuses his kiss. As in the rest of Antonioni's Alienation Trilogy, the plot is a slow drift through one relationship that has quietly stopped working.
La Notte ending explained
The marriage ends the film in a sand trap on the golf course, unresolved. At dawn Lidia tells Giovanni that Tommaso loved her, that she once chose Giovanni, and that she no longer loves him. Giovanni says the marriage has failed but insists he still loves her. Lidia reads aloud a love letter, and Giovanni does not recognise it as his own, written to her years earlier. She tells him they do not love each other anymore. He pulls her down into the bunker and keeps kissing her while she resists, and the camera pulls away.
Post-credits scenes
No. There is no post-credits scene.
Where to watch La Notte
La Notte is streaming on AMC+, Kanopy, and HBO Max in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Fandango At Home.
Ratings
IMDb 7.9/10, Rotten Tomatoes 84%
Where it fits
- Release order: after L'Avventura, before L'Eclisse.
- Chronological order: after L'Avventura, before L'Eclisse.
Cast
- Marcello Mastroianni as Giovanni Pontano
- Jeanne Moreau as Lidia
- Monica Vitti as Valentina Gherardini
- Bernhard Wicki as Tommaso Garani
- Rosy Mazzacurati as Rosy
- Maria Pia Luzi as Un'invitata
- Guido A. Marsan as Fanti
- Vittorio Bertolini
- Vincenzo Corbella as Mr. Gherardini
- Ugo Fortunati as Cesarino
- Gitt Magrini as Signora Gherardini
- Giorgio Negro as Roberto
Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni.