Piranhas (2019) – Film Review

Director: Claudio Giovannesi
Cast: Francesco DiNapoli, Viviana Aprea, Alfredo Turitto
Certificate: 15

by Roger Crow / @RogerCrow

Nicola is a young man who lives with his mother and younger brother in the Sanitae neighborhood of Naples, a place which has been controlled by the Camorra mafia for centuries.

Dreaming of a life filled with designer clothing and elite nightclub service, Nicola and his naive group of friends start selling drugs, their entry into the violent, power-hungry world of crime.

Of course they soon realise they’re in over their heads and tragedy occurs.

“Lashings of energy”

The mostly young cast make a good job of the drama and director Claudio Giovannesi knows how to stitch a scene together. The whole thing ticks over with lashings of energy, and there are times it reminds me of Bugsy Malone (mini gangsters), Akira (hoodlums on bikes), and Once Upon a Time in America (sweeping crime epic).

Based on the book by Roberto Saviano, Piranhas is a must for those who love Italian cinema.

There’s a naturalism to the drama which hooks the viewer in, while the cast’s lack of baggage helps enormously; Francesco DiNapoli could be a star of tomorrow.

It went down a storm at the Berlin International Film Festival last year and is bound to attract similar acclaim in Blighty.