Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti, known professionally as Dalida,
enjoyed international fame as a singer and actress before her suicide in 1986.
The latest biopic from writer-director Lisa Azuelos follows the dovetailing
stories of Dalida’s professional success and personal tragedy, by way of a
rather convoluted structure. We are first introduced to Dalida (Sveva Alviti)
checking in to a Parisian hotel for a suicide attempt. She fails, and during
her recovery her childhood and early career are told in flashback to the
physician treating her. Ex-husband Lucien Morisse (Jean-Paul Rouve) relates his
discovery of Dalida at a singing competition. Their affair caused Lucien to
abandon his previous wife, yet by the time of their marriage Dalida had become
disillusioned with the relationship, upset over her fiancé’s prioritization of
her career over children and a family. Her brother Orlando (Riccardo Scamarcio)
reveals details about their youth in Egypt. Dalida thought herself ugly because
of the glasses she wore and the teasing they garnered from her schoolmates. She
also suffered an early trauma when their violinist father was arrested and
detained during World War II.
A former lover, Jean Sobieski (Niels Schneider) brings both
the audience and the doctor up to present day. His affair with Dalida began
shortly after her marriage, then quickly fell apart when she moved on to
budding singer Luigi Tenco (Alessandro Borghi). Tenco had recently committed
suicide after a poor reception at a competition, and it is this loss that the
men believe has brought on Dalida’s current depression. Following this
revelation Dalida churns forward
linearly, although it does not entirely abandon flashbacks. Starting in media res hampers the entire film, though.
For a project with women in the roles of lead actress, as well as
writer/director/producer, it’s disappointing that for the first hour Dalida is
unconscious, her life story related instead by the men who have observed it.
Recovering from her attempted suicide, Dalida enjoys a
rejuvenation of her career with Orlando as her new manager. Her hunger for
romantic and domestic satisfaction, however, still figures prominently. An
affair with a university student leads to pregnancy and a secret abortion with,
she later learns, renders her sterile. A relationship with socialite Richard
Chanfray (Nicolas Duvauchelle) has a promising start, but turns tumultuous and
abusive over time. There are additional suicides and eating disorders, an
almost surreal level of melodrama that presages the singer’s tragic end.
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| Sveva Alviti as the singer Dalida |
Sveva Alviti bears an uncanny resemblance to her subject and
brings a carefully controlled melancholy to her portrayal. It’s a warm and
nuanced performance, held back by some questionable choices in the script (the
male-driven first half, along with a mirror-Dalida who voices the singer’s
silent thoughts out loud only once and is never seen again). Alviti does not
appear to do any of her own singing: the soundtrack credits Dalida’s
recordings, and in some instances the lip syncing is quite apparent. Rouve’s
ex-husband adds a touch of smarm at the start, while Scamarcio toes the line
between selfless brother and self-interested talent manager.
Dalida is
sumptuously shot by cinematographer Antoine Sanier, who captures all the
luxurious, colorful details of a celebrity’s life from the 1950’s through the
1980’s. Azuelos’ writing and direction are both uneven, their periods of
strength undermined by ineffective choices early on. Strong performances from
Alviti and her co-stars go a long way towards buoying an inconsistent script,
yet by the film’s end Dalida still feels just slightly out of reach, a diva
sequestered behind the stage lights while we can only sit and watch in the
front row.
RATING: ★ ½
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