Fading Gigolo

Fading Gigolo is a misnomer, since the protagonist in this tale only becomes a gigolo several minutes into the film, and never fades away. Though Woody Allen (now 79) shares a generous amount of screen space with John Turturro, the film is written and directed by Turturro, not Allen. It is not often that one sees Allen acting in films directed by others. So, Fading Gigolo falls in the category of What’s New Pussycat?, Casino Royale , Play It Again Sam, The Front, Scenes From a Mall, The Sunshine Boys, and Picking Up The Pieces.

In terms of themes, there is some amount of Allen-speak and a certain level of Allenesque sexual contradiction. Turturro (57) had been a passing acquaintance of the film-maker since a small role in Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), and collaborated on Relatively Speaking, a trio of one-act plays by Allen, Elaine May and Ethan Coen. “And we do share a hair cutter," Turturro says.

Fioravante (John Turturro), a plumber-cum-flower shop assistant, at his friend Murray Schwartz (Woody Allen)’s suggestion, becomes a gigolo. The seed of this scheme is planted when Murray’s sexy dermatologist Dr. Parker (Sharon Stone) mentions she’s looking for a man to participate in a ménage à trois with her and her equally gorgeous friend Selima (Sofia Vergara). Faced with an unsure future after the recent closure of his family bookshop, Murray recognises the financial potential of this proposal and sets about convincing Fioravante to accept the deal. While Fioravante is at first hesitant, he also needs the cash, and comes to realise that there are worse ways to make a living than making two attention-starved women happy

Meanwhile Murray has come across an unusual second client for Fioravante: Avigal (Vanessa Paradis), the widow of a revered Chasidic Rabbi, whom she married when she was very young. Twenty years later, Avigal now finds herself with six children, memories of a life lived only within the cloistered world of the Chasidic community, and a desperate yearning to experience something new. When Murray proposes that she visit ‘healer’ Fioravante, she grabs this opportunity, curious as to where it might lead her. Fioravante’s tender touch on her back awakens something inside her that Avigal had never felt before, as well as stirring up an unexpected reaction in Fioravante.

John Turturro studied at the Yale School of Drama and made his film debut in 1980. His films include Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, Mo’ Better Blues and Jungle Fever, Robert Redford’s Quiz Show and Joel and Ethan Coen’s Miller’s Crossing, The Big Lebowski and O Brother Where Art Thou? For his lead role in the Coen Brothers’ Barton Fink, Turturro won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival. He also received Cannes' Camera d’Or Award for his directorial debut, Mac, in 1991. Turturro has also directed Illuminata, Romance & Cigarettes, and Passione: A Musical Adventure.

Fading Gigolo seems to have been directed with a sense of detachment. The script metamorphoses from a trite sex comedy into a sleep-walking montage of a gigolo’s life into a serious tale of life in a cloistered Jewish community, which even has its own patrol car. There is humour, but before it can settle in, Turturro moves on. You are offered the flimsiest premise for Allen’s character to become a pimp, and the way he goes on and on about money and his share is discomforting. Towards the end, there is some redemption in the way Avigal’s character reaches a life-changing point.

Allen talks twenty-to-the dozen, waves his arms in trademark fashion, lies with a poker-face, plays baseball with nine children and cheats, and makes light of the ‘arrangement’ he and Fioravante has gotten into. But the spark is missing. Not among his best roles, to be sure. Turturro speaks softly, mouths sayings and proverbs in what sound like Spanish, French and Italian and wears a non-focussed look. His role has little or no back-story and he merely seems to walk in and out of situations. Three scenes in the second half bring out the human in him, and the contrast does help in showcasing his acting abilities.

Sharon Stone is a sex bomb, but we see only her legs, in one scene. Her face gives the impression of having been shot with diffused lighting. Yes, her acting potential has been tapped in films of Woody Allen, Paul Verhoeven, Mark Rydell, Sam Raimi and Martin Scorcese, but Fading Gigolo does not have much of her art on display. Buxom Sofia Vergara is the only Hispanic actress who started her career on a U.S. Hispanic Network and successfully crossed over to the mainstream market. After the success of Smurfs, Vergara reprised her role as the voice of Odile in Smurfs 2. Two Sofia scenes here are sufficient to send many hearts pumping.

Vanessa Paradis (Avigal) is a celebrated French singer, model and actress. Fading Gigolo marks her first appearance in an English language film, and she makes the most of it. It takes a while to get her accent, but it is Paradis who makes most of the second half interesting

Liev Schreiber (Dovi, the silent lover) has been called “the finest American theater actor of his generation” by the New York Times. There is substance to this ranking. Earlier seen in Clear History, The Butler, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Mixed Nuts, and Wes Craven's Scream trilogy, he imbues his character with just the right amount of emotions, and even the caricatures he is part of are carried off well.

Music is generously used, and some of the jazz tracks are infectious. Simona Paggi, nominated for the Academy Award in Life Is Beautiful, has edited the film well, perhaps a little too ruthlessly, keeping it to an official duration of 98 minutes. The version we saw in Mumbai is only 90 minutes long, but I guess the credit for that cutting should go to the Central Board of Film Certification. Barring 2-3 f words and one brief scene of simulated sex, there is nothing to cater to the viewer who might be lured by the title.

Rating: **1/2

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