Social media has brought a lot of people together but there still remains a smidgeon of doubt about those who initiate relationships through dating services. Can you trust that people are who they say they are? This mesmerizing Italian drama directed by Giuseppe Capotondi takes another approach to the evergreen problem of trust in relationships.
Sonia (Ksenia Rappoport) is a foreign-born maid who works at a hotel in Turin, Italy. In order to brighten up her life in the dating sweepstakes, she decides to try the speed-dating scene — a formalized matchmaking process designed to enable people to quickly meet a large number of new people. Men and women are rotated from one table to another and in a brief encounter are supposed to gauge whether or not they would be compatible with the other person. Sonia meets a handful of men who do not interest her at all. Then Guido (Filippo Timi), a security guard, comes to her table and there is a real connection between them. Can they trust each other? Yes, they set aside the past and begin a romance that blooms in the present moment.
While her is showing her a mansion he is guarding, Guido and Sonia are caught in a well-organized robbery. In a state of shock after being injured, she loses touch with reality and starts hallucinating. Meanwhile, a cop friend of Guido's seems to derive pleasure out of making her feel uncomfortable.
The Double Hour (the title refers to the moment when the time consists of the same numbers) morphs from a romantic drama to a thriller, and then to a psychodrama. Ksenia Rappoport delivers a stunning performance as her enigmatic character goes through a grueling series of twists and turns. This is the kind of rich cinematic experience that bears repeated viewings in order to catch the psychological nuances in the words and deeds of the two lead characters, along with all the small epiphanies and magic moments.
Special features on the DVD include a behind-the-scenes featurette; deleted scenes; and English subtitles.
