The Seed of Discord

Veronica (Gorgeous Italian actress and former Bond-girl Caterina Murino) is a young and exuberant woman dealing in the everyday with issues in her job, she also has to handle her meddlesome mother begging for a grandson and (what makes this petition a difficult goal to achieve) she is routinely married to an itinerant seller more concerned in his work (and the adulterous flirting with some of his loyal customers) than his beautiful wife. One night, Veronica’s monotone life turns into a bizarre twist after being assaulted in an alley on her way home and left unconscious, being aided only by a security guard (Michele Venitucci) who beyond his good Samaritan speech, is secretly in love of her, but the weirdest consequence will surface weeks after the incident as she realizes she’s pregnant… despite her husband’s infertility, driving her to follow any evidence able to lead her to identify the unknown perpetrator who raped, and impregnated her.This movie is, in fact, a “dramedy” that relies on a tradition of spicy Italian comedies but without their festive eroticism. Quite the opposite, there is something profoundly degrading in the story which also is the most interesting part, however -and paradoxically- it never takes off because of the poorly acted one-dimensional characters. Caterina Murino shines like a top model going through the catwalk, but her acting is as abysmal as the way her character behaves. She does not have what it takes to portray such a complex role, and that’s precisely the reason why the whole scheme fails: It never decides whether being a light moral tale or a sordid take on a bourgeoisie nightmare. The humor is not as dark and corrosive as its needed, nor the dramatic elements are strong enough to feel involved with. The movie even deals with controversial themes like abortion and features some of the most shallow commentaries about real rape victims ever heard on film, something as outrageous as the story itself.Screened at Venice Film Festival in 2008, this interesting story not-so-interestingly crafted and developed into a disappointing movie has not better quality than any mediocre made-for-TV prime time drama, although it still remains as a film to be seen with ingredients worth to watch.