Paolo Sorrentino on the Origin of Monologues in His Films

At the 40th Torino Film Festival (TFF), director Paolo Sorrentino discussed the role of monologues in his cinema during a public event at Teatro Astra in Turin on December 2, 2022. Moderated by TFF director Steve Della Casa and David Grieco, the talk was part of the Dialoghi series of the TPE 2022/2023 season. Andrea De Rosa introduced the topic, noting that Sorrentino's systematic use of monologues—a theatrical device—distinguishes his work and reflects the creative ferment of Naples' Teatri Uniti, founded by Mario Martone and Toni Servillo in 1987. De Rosa categorized Sorrentino's monologues into three types: interior monologue (e.g., Le conseguenze dell'amore, Il divo), stream-of-consciousness addressed to a silent interlocutor (Youth), and invective that overwhelms other characters (La grande bellezza, Loro). Sorrentino explained that monologues arise from various needs: in Il divo, he used a fictional monologue to express his own viewpoint on the enigmatic Andreotti; in La grande bellezza, the monologue stemmed from his antipathy toward certain real-life personalities, allowing him to say through the character what he could not in society. He also uses monologues for characters to take stock of their situations, often highlighting their lack of progress—a recurring theme in his films.