His aggression, even at the start, diminishes his charm, and no amount of self-education can correct the flaws in his personality. Hope Madden reviews. But this meandering Pietro Marcello (“Lost and Beautiful”) film seems to exist out of time, a fictional “struggling artist” biography as rife with cliches as it is obtuse in story and message. Martin Eden emerges in the movie from a shipping vessel and propensity as a womanizer is established early. This London adaptation feels like a leveling up. unearthed from a locked vault after decades of gathering dust and slotted into the middle of a late De Sica/ mid-period Francesco Rosi triple feature. 4 – 1960-1980: New Wave, How to Analyse Movies #8: Putting It Into Practice, How to Analyse Movies #7: Iconography & Realisticness, How to Analyse Movies #5: Lighting, Sound & Score, MPAA, Studios Fund 12-Step Programs For Women Directors (PARODY), Weinstein Scandal Should Affect The Outcome Of The EEOC Hollywood Probe (THR Guest Column), The EEOC Gender Probe: I Don’t Regret Starting the Fight, Women Directors & The Farce of Networking Programs, FARGO Season 4: Thematically Ambitious But So All Over The Place, THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR: A Spooky & Heart-Aching Gothic Romance, WE ARE WHO WE ARE Season 1: An Immersive Gen. Z Coming Of Age Drama, BILLIONS (S5E7) “The Limitless Sh*t”: This Is Scarface Drug, Not Limitless, BILLIONS (S5E6) “The Nordic Model”: An Old School Pissing Contest, BILLIONS (S5E5) “Contract”: The Sins Of The Fathers, KILLING EVE (S3E8) “Are You Leading Or Am I?”: Dancing To The Same Old Tune, THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7: A Satisfying Crowd Pleaser With Room To Grow, No Sympathy For The Shooter: Contrasting TARGETS (1968) & JOKER (2019) In An Era Of Mass Shootings. The entirety of the 20th century — its promises, illusions and traumas — sweeps through the audacious and thrilling “Martin Eden.” An ingenious adaptation of the Jack London novel, the film follows its title character, a humble young man as he embarks on a program of self-improvement.

The film’s final position on socialism, capitalism, individualism and liberalism is more of a moving target. It’s easy to fall under Martin’s spell, to gaze at him like Elena finally does.

By transferring the story to the period between the two World Wars, however hazily, Marcello extends those arguments deeper into the century, sometimes to unnerving effect. He steadfastly refuses his brother-in-law’s offers for work (to be fair, the man is a boorish cretin) and later, for Orsini-aided opportunities to rise in the ranks of business. When I walked out of the theater, I felt like I had lived the life of Martin Eden. He grows, he transforms, and then he invokes Nietzsche.

An abrupt third act time jump—although only Martin seems to have aged—creates an even more ambiguous tone that doesn’t really benefit a film that can’t entirely nail down its political point. A few bits from the nation’s neo-realistic period get thrown in for good measure.