Woman of Rome (1954)

With the "Duce" still very much in charge of Italy, the young "Adriana" (Gina Lollobrigida) is coasting along in life, using her good looks to attract the attention of "Gino" (Franco Fabrizi) and hoping that they will marry. A casual meeting with aspiring Fascist "Astarita" (Raymond Pellegrin), however, soon puts that plan on the fire - especially as he clearly has designs her himself. She's a bit despondent and turns to the game to make her living. At times she comes across as almost desperate for love, for attention - yep, even sex, but perhaps when she meets "Mino" (Daniel Gélin) she might find some sort of purpose in life? Well the fly in that ointment is that he's a committed anti-Fascist and is known to the authorities. With him taking risks on a daily basis and her in possession of some fairly profound news, is there any hope for redemption for her and happiness for them? This is certainly one of Lollobrigida's better efforts as she tackles this role with quite a degree authenticity. There's virtually no glamour for her to hide behind and she delivers with a rawness as the young woman whose options are largely limited by her looks - a situation common to many women at the time. The choices of men her character makes are maybe not the best but both Gélin and Pellegrin provide solid foils as the story develops juggling romance with elements of politics and crime. It's touching at times, steadily paced and well worth a couple of hours, I'd say.