Like Crazy

Two women meet at Villa Biondi, a mental health facility in Tuscany. Beatrice presents herself as a countess, talks without stopping and claims to know everyone. Donatella is closed off, trusts nobody and has had her child taken from her. One day they get out and drive away. The journey begins like a comedy and changes register as it moves toward the possibility of Donatella seeing her son. Paolo Virzì directed. Valeria Bruni Tedeschi plays Beatrice and Micaela Ramazzotti plays Donatella. The portrait of the facility is not an anti-institutional satire; the staff at Villa Biondi are drawn as understanding and well meaning, and the problem lies in the world outside it. It screened in the Directors' Fortnight at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. At the 2017 David di Donatello awards it was nominated in many categories including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress for both leads and Best Original Screenplay. Who it is for: viewers who like road films built on two actresses and Italian tragicomedy. Who it is not for: anyone expecting mental illness handled seriously. In its first half the film uses its heroines' conditions as comic material.