Suburra

Rome, 2011. Around a large development an MP wants to push through in Ostia, politicians, the mafia, a crime boss who used to be a neo-fascist and the Vatican Bank all converge. Blackmail, murder and escalating violence between the factions follow each other. The film compresses everything into seven days and tells it as a countdown. Stefano Sollima directed, from the 2013 novel by Carlo Bonini and Giancarlo De Cataldo. Pierfrancesco Favino, Elio Germano and Claudio Amendola lead. It was financed by Netflix and RAI. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 91 percent, with reviews praising the casting, the photography and the soundtrack. One critic wrote that while it delivers shocks and spectacle, the characterisations are shallow and stereotypical. It took roughly 5.2 million dollars worldwide, 4.7 million euros of that in Italy. Netflix turned it into a series in 2017, Suburra: Blood on Rome, followed by the spinoff Suburraeterna in 2023. Who it is for: viewers who like Italian crime cinema and stories where politics and the mafia are the same thing. Who it is not for: anyone looking for depth of character. The film puts visual force ahead of the writing, and critics said so.