Tomasso

 

Abel Ferrara's Tommaso borders on self-parody and solipsism. Willem Dafoe plays Tomaso, a version of the director, while Ferrara's wife and child play "themselves". The film is from Tommaso's point of view with frequent onscreen fantasies involving sex and death. Dafoe's character is an artist in love with the flame of his own desire, He leads an actor's studio, frolics with his family and attends AA meetings. These vignettes are theatrical to the point that Tommaso's AA rants are the equivalent of stage monologues.

All for the best because Dafoe is wonderful. It is a very giving performance and Dafoe is even willing to poke fun at his previous attempt to play Jesus. Ferrara frames the film as an expatriate's immersion into Roman life. The film is surprisingly vibrant at evoking everyday life on the street in a modern city. Even Tommaso's interaction with a homeless man seems grounded and believable. 

Ferrara's career has not only had many peaks and valleys, but also blind alleys and Shanghai tunnels. Typed as an aficionado of scuzz, his career seems tangential to the commercial cinema. Tommaso is his most distinctive and focused film in some time.