Martin Eden (2021)

Based on Jack London's 1909 novel of the same name, Pietro Marcello's adaptation transposes the location of the story from California to Naples to stunning effect. Early on, Martin, who lives with his sister and her husband and their young children, rescues Arturo from a beating on a Napoli pier. So grateful is Arturo, he insists on bringing Martin to his family home so they can thank him in person. This is where Martin meets Elena, Arturo's sister, and falls hopelessly in love with her. It's a tale as old as time and indeed the novel on which it is based is over a century old. The cultured and refined Elena is not only the beacon to which Martin looks to romantically, it's her social status and class that Martin sets his heart on. As someone born into poverty, he's not had the same opportunities that Elena and her family have, and he aspires to reach her intellectual level at great cost, fighting constant obstacles. Despite the problems posed by society and social structures, Martin is determined to be successful, and we are drawn into his quest with some truly superb acting by Luca Marinelli (who should draw awards attention with this performance) as well as his peers. We are given fascinating snippets of both Martin's earlier life and contextualised old stock film footage in frequent edits that give the film a haunting beauty, a feeling that never leaves, especially in its more tragic moments. Martin Eden is perfectly paced, merging the criteria of both a romantic drama and a something like a biopic to wonderful effect. It takes an excellent romance film to fully draw me in, but the screenplay combined with the acting leave you no choice. Martin is no stranger to frollicking; his social class and upbringing doesn't leave much option for celibacy, but when he and Elena finally declare their love for each other, it's clear that it's something neither of them have experienced before. "I've never loved before," says a breathless Elena. "Let's learn together," replies Martin, in just one of a dozen achingly beautiful sequences. The film takes a political turn in the final third, brilliantly whipping up conflict between the pair as Martin turns to socialist circles to try and understand and impact his own world more effectively, and this brings him into dissension with Elena; right at a time that it seems Martin's dream to be a writer could have some traction. I urge you to seek it out. 8.5/10