Netflix's massive new Oscar Isaac movie looks like a fever dream, but that might be a very good thing
In the Hand of Dante looks wild
Netflix just unveiled one heck of an interesting-looking original movie, and its cast alone makes it easily worth paying attention to, even if you don't have time to check out its frankly bonkers trailer. In the Hand of Dante is coming on 24 June, and promises to tell an era-hopping story of obsession with a deliberate arch noirish tone.
The movie stars Oscar Isaac as Nick, seemingly a modern-day scholar obsessed with the works of Dante Alighieri, whose most famous work was the Divine Comedy, in which he described the nine circles of hell. Nick dreams of knowing the unknowable about the great writer, but never expects to have his wish answered.
In a noir-inspired black and white timeline, which seems to be set in the present day, Nick is accosted by the literal Italian mob in New York and offered the chance to find and study the lost original manuscript of The Divine Comedy, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity fraught with danger.
On the way to finding it, he'll clearly fall in with Gal Gadot as a femme fatale, and once he gets his hands on it, all manner of shenanigans will break loose. What's more interesting, though, is the fact that we'll also get glimpses of historical scenes, in which the mainline cast take on new roles, with Isaac filling in as Dante himself, for instance. These scenes are contrasted with the present day by being presented in vivid colour, too.
The whole thing looks completely surreal and quite beautiful, but the cast list bears dwelling on. We've got, alongside Isaac and Gadot, Gerard Butler, John Malkovich, Al Pacino, Jason Momoa and, most amazingly of all, Martin Scorsese in yet another cameo, this time in a nearly ludicrous Gandalf-like beard and long-hair combo.
That's one heck of a list of actors, and it's enough to make me curious about the film despite frankly very middling early reviews. It's sitting on a hugely dividied 43% score on Rotten Tomatoes after reviews from film festivals last year, which might just mean that it's interesting enough to bear some proper inspection if you have a Netflix subscription.
