Centered around the coming of age of nine-year-old Alma (Oro De Commarque), on vacation with her two brothers Jean (Ettore Giustiniani) and Seb (Milo Roussel), separated (and inept) father Carlo (Riccardo Scamarcio), and his writing partner/lover Benedetta (Alba Rohrwacher), Ginevra Elkann’s tender directorial debut “Magari” [aka “If Only”] is a sweetly nostalgic film that is intimate in its scope and treatment of its characters. Perhaps too confined, and inert, in certain places, Elkann’s film ultimately rises above the cliches of domestic dramedy because of the film’s focus on Alma’s resilient, yet hopeful, viewpoint.
Sent away by their recently remarried mother Charlotte (Céline Sallette) to spend the Christmas holiday with their philandering screenwriting father, the children are told to keep two secrets to themselves: first, that Charlotte’s pregnant and, second, that once the holiday is over, the family is moving to Canada. Upon arrival in Italy, they are picked up late at the airport, only to be taken to their father’s job and left to wait in the car, as he attempts to get his newest screenplay approved. That approval doesn’t come, however, and instead of the promised ski-trip, the children are taken to the beach-house of Carlo’s friend, so that he and Benedetta can get some work done.
The majority of the film traces the leisurely days that ensue, as Alma wishes for her parents to abandon their lovers and get back together, while teenager Seb grapples with his burgeoning sexual attraction to older Benedetta, and younger Jean deals with his diabetes, as well as his father’s misunderstanding of his condition. All of these subplots are filtered through Elkann’s unobtrusive decision to place her film during the early-’90s. And thankfully, while first-generation GameBoys and references to Marcello Mastroianni are peppered throughout the film, they are never distracting to the narrative.
For sections, Elkann and co-screenwriter Chiara Barzini are more than happy to let these disparate characters interact, feeding off of Carlo’s incompetent parenting and Benedetta’s unwelcome presence. Yet, with the arrival of Carlo’s abrasive, loud American friend (played by Brett Gelman), the family is thrown into flux and Carlo’s resentment of his children’s distractions, Seb’s sexual interest with Benedetta, and Alma’s blinding want to put back her family back together come to a head. Obviously, those aforementioned secrets are revealed and the familial disputes take centerstage. Some of the developments during this third act may come across as trite or unbelievable, but they are almost always grounded within the characters.
For her debut, Elkann has created a warm film that explores a family on the brink of shattering. Steeped in nostalgia, both for a begone time period and the relative simplicity of family disagreements, “Magari” is a film that favors small character moments over larger sweeping catharsis, and it’s all the better for it. [B+]