Written and directed by and starring Paola Cortellesi, There’s Still Tomorrow is a feminist dramedy that outperformed Barbie in Italy! Set in post-WWII Rome, it tells the story of Delia, a working class woman trapped in an abusive marriage who dreams of a better life for her daughter Marcella (Romana Maggiora Vergano). Her husband Ivano (Valerio Mastandrea) thinks nothing of knocking her around for the least infraction. In fact the first frames of the film are the two of them awakening and him slapping her even before she gets out of bed. But a letter arrives for her one day, that gives her some hope for the future and changes her attitude.
Delia has three children, Marcella, who is already dating a boy that she hopes to marry, and two younger boys who spend their time running around the house cussing and fighting. Also living in the house is her husband’s demanding invalid father who she has to take care of in addition to taking care of the house and working a number of odd jobs to bring in some money that she always has to give to Ivano, though she is stashing away a bit that he knows nothing about. The boys are of course mirroring the dad’s attitude towards her. But she is concerned about her daughter and her daughter doesn’t understand how she can put up with the abuse. And when her daughter gets engaged to a wealthy young man, it seems like a great escape, that is until she overhears him telling her that he owns her, and she recognizes the signs.
The beautifully shot black and white look of the film harkens back to the classic Italian neorealism of the period it is set in, just after the war, with American GIs still in the streets of Rome. In fact one of the story lines concerns an MP that helps Delia out when she really needs a hand after she does him a favor. Her life inside the house and outside are wildly different and as she moves towards the freedom she is seeking, the bounce in her step grows lighter and lighter.
The violence in the house though is difficult to take even as the director has chosen to treat it as a choreographed dance at times. You’re constantly wondering what will happen to set Ivano off. No doubt it was “normal” at the time for many women to live like that, and the direction of the story is uplifting by the end, but damn! if you wouldn’t like her to pick up a pan and whack him in the head just once.
But it is that letter that keeps you going. What is in it that she keeps going back to? She is fortunate to have her women friends who are there for her and there is an old flame who is waiting and the GI, but ultimately you see that Delia has to do it for herself and it’s #GirlPower all the way. I won’t give away the ending. But it is worth the watch. You will be happy for Delia. (She might just get to use that frying pan after all.)
In theaters.