BEATRICE CENCI

BEATRICE CENCI, or CONSPIRACY OF TORTURE, is a tremendous little film somewhat hampered by forced dialogue and an over-reliance on graphic violence. Not that either of those things feel out of place in a film directed by Lucio Fulci, but one can't help but think what BEATRICE CENCI could have been had Fulci dialed down his usual sadism and allowed the films theme of self-sacrificial devotion to really shine through. Of course, had he allowed himself to do so, this film wouldn't be featured on this site, nor would it have developed such a rabid fan following through the years. As it is, this is history viewed through the eyes of exploitation, a film that would make the Marquis de Sade proud. But behind the maulings, stabbings, eye gougings and broken bones lies a film capable of breaking your heart.


Lucio Fulci Beatrice Cenci

This historical docu-drama concerns the murder of Francesco Cenci, a ruthless tyrant and abuser, a man hated by virtually everyone, including his family. And especially by his daughter, Beatrice. She plans on entering a nunnery as a means to escape her father. His answer to her wishes is to lock her in the dungeon. One night, Francesco "falls" from the balcony of his home, a murder designed to look like an accident. The family is arrested along with Olimpio, Beatrice's lover, a family servant. Olimpio is tortured - graphically and at length - but refuses to say anything other than he alone was responsible for the murder, unwilling to give up the woman he loves. After Olimpio's death, Beatrice is tortured mercilessly but maintains her innocence. Her family, however, can't withstand the pain. This leads to the ultimate revelation of Beatrice's true motive for wanting her father dead, a revelation that calls into question everything we've learned about this woman so far. She had been beaten and raped by her father.


Adrienne Larussa in Beatrice Cenci

Fulci's film is genuinely beautiful. From it's stark opening scenes showing the construction of the gallows to the final, gut wrenching scenes of execution, BEATRICE CENCI captures the viewer's attention with it's impressive eye for detail and meticulous construction. It feels historically accurate. It's also totally oppressive. We can feel the stifling heat, the filth, and the agony. Claustrophobic set designs capture the mood of the piece perfectly. We're trapped in the situation with the characters, a situation that we cannot escape from, our fates sealed along with theirs. The prolonged torture of Olimpio reeks of Fulci's particular brand of excess but, unlike the violence present throughout the rest of the film, the violence of the torture sequences comes across as something other than gratuitous. It's rather heart-breaking.


Tomas Milian Beatrice Cenci

It also allows for one of the most remarkably complex sequences in Fulci's filmography. As the battered and dying Olimpio lies on the floor of the dungeon, the inquisitors bring Beatrice to him. They inform her that Olimpio has ratted her out, something he denies, weakly. He tells them that he couldn't stand the torment any longer, that he named her as a way of escaping the pain. But he can no longer lie. She is innocent, he tells them. He alone killed Francesco Cenci. As he lies there in agony, his eyes fixed upon her, we realize that he is not only trying to save her life but also professing his love for her in a way only she understands. But Beatrice is seemingly cold. She responds only "It's not the first time a dependant claims to have loved his mistress". She is shown out of the room, his eyes following her every step while she only looks forward, never returning his gaze. This calls into question their whole relationship to that point. Had Beatrice used Olimpio as a tool with which to murder her father, knowing full well that he had loved her for some time? Was he just a pawn? Fulci doesn't answer this question. He simply lets it hang in the air, a dose of suffocating cynicism.


Beatrice Cenci Lucio Fulci

This is a strongly acted piece. The amazingly beautiful Adrienne Larussa plays Beatrice with a kind of sullen withdrawal that only helps to align her strongly with the audience. Tomas Milian, in a break from his usual tough guy roles, transforms Olimpio from naive martyr to romantic hero with his usual ease and George Wilson creates in Francesco Cenci a villain that truly deserves his horrible fate. But the real star of this production is Lucio Fulci, a man who is best known for his vomit-inducing horror set pieces but whose range far exceeded his capabilities. Watching BEATRICE CENCI for the first time in over fifteen years was a sharp reminder that while Fulci made his name with over-the-top excess, he was more than capable of producing quiet, commanding, and utterly devastating pieces of work. BEATRICE CENCI is a great film.


Highly recommended.