Bearing in mind that Alberto Moravia's novel 'La Romana' was on the Index of Forbidden Works, any attempt to adapt it for film was bound to be fraught with difficulties. I still have my dog-eared Penguin copy and to be fair to director Luigi Zampa he has done his best to be as faithful as possible to the text. The author collaborated on the script but even with the changes they were obliged to make the film still faced opposition from the Catholic authorities. The controversy certainly did the film no harm at the box office and its first showing at the Venice Film Festival became a media circus.
The critical reaction while not hostile, seemed to suggest that the film had failed to meet expectations and the more positive reviews were saved for Gina Lollobrigida as the title character.
This is certainly La Lollo's most challenging role since that of Gemma in 'La Provinciale' for Mario Soldati and Luigi Zampa has drawn from her what I think is her best performance.
Byron called Beauty 'the fatal gift' and this certainly applies in the case of Adriana. Her mother hopes that her daughter's good looks will bring her a rich husband and security but all it seems to bring is bad fortune and the attentions of Gino who is a rat, Mino, one of Moravia's archetypal intellectuals who is consumed with guilt about his moral cowardice, a fascist official named Astarita and last but not least Sonzogno, a brutish thug.
Daniel Gélin as Mino drew mostly negative reviews but has a difficult role and succeeds in arousing our sympathy for his weakness rather than our contempt. The fascist Astarita is far more sympathetic here than in the novel and Raymond Pellegrin gives an excellent performance. Mention must be made of Pia Piovani who impresses as Adriana's bitter, disillusioned mother.
As expected in Italian cinema there is plenty of dubbing going on but it is generally seamless. There is a strong score by Enzo Masetti.
Zampa has chosen to concentrate on the protagonists here rather than the society and the era around them. This is set in the 1930s but I didn't really have a sense of 'being there'. In this respect it is disappointing but is redeemed by Zampa's obvious skill with actors and the committed performances of his cast.