I find it funny that Tinto Brass - an Italian native - decided to place his most colorful and cheerful movie in years, of all places, in gray and rainy London. Even if we dismiss the fact that Brass apparently has a rather poor control of English, and didn't bother to check his dialog (what does the constable mean when he shouts "Who's in charge?" over and over again?) Trasgredire really doesn't look like it's set in London; but it looks better than Brass's silly, almost naive softcore erotica did in years. It's beautifully shot and lush with color; the opening sequence alone is worth the whole thing - it's sweet, sexy, funny, fast-paced and very much sets a cheery, light-hearted tone for the rest of the film. Tinto's work is always best when he doesn't take himself seriously, and Trasgredire is a movie that demands to be taken with as little seriousness as possible. It results in several scenes that manage to be erotic, arousing and very funny at the same time - other than the opening sequence, the phone scene also pops to mind.
Unfortunately, all of those scenes are in the first half of the film, and it falls apart in the second half, where - as he so often does - Tinto ruins it with a poorly conceived plot and a pretentious attempt to make some kind of point about human sexuality, which he has been pushing, in slight variations, over and over again at least since 1992's Cosi Fan Tutte. Even more irritating is a scene near the end which echoes the opening scene in the park, but rather than giving it any profound meaning, just spoils the harmless, naive fun of the first sequence. Nevertheless, it's still fun and very easy on the eyes, and one of Brass's best works in recent years.
Unfortunately, all of those scenes are in the first half of the film, and it falls apart in the second half, where - as he so often does - Tinto ruins it with a poorly conceived plot and a pretentious attempt to make some kind of point about human sexuality, which he has been pushing, in slight variations, over and over again at least since 1992's Cosi Fan Tutte. Even more irritating is a scene near the end which echoes the opening scene in the park, but rather than giving it any profound meaning, just spoils the harmless, naive fun of the first sequence. Nevertheless, it's still fun and very easy on the eyes, and one of Brass's best works in recent years.