Adam Leon is no stranger to a street-level New York film, but with his latest, he brings us into the story of a woman (Vanessa Kirby) who loses all sense of who she is and spends the night searching for answers around New York City. It’s filled with mystery and suspense (like wondering what happened to her dog), but it is through Leon’s direction that we can understand what happened to Alina Reynolds and her rediscovery of who she is.
Talking with Leon about the film, I was fascinated by the layout of New York in this movie (and pointed out that the characters take the train one stop), and he talked about his use of New York in general. “This is the third movie I made that really we take to the streets of New York,” Leon said about the city aspect of Italian Studies. “This is the one that I think is the least geographically literal because she, and we, as the audience don’t really know where we are.”
But, with a movie like this, where it was written and directed by Leon, I was fascinated by this story in particular and what made him want to tell it. For Leon, it was about working with Kirby:
What drew me to it was happenstance, Vanessa and I were friends for a while. And we were looking for something to do. She called me up and said that she had these sort of gaps in her schedule where she could be in New York. We ended up shooting some stuff in London as well. So we talked about what kind of story do we wanna tell that can be told this way, where we are shooting somewhat piecemeal, she wanted to be thrown out into the streets. And we had talked about the idea of being present. We had talked about the idea of identity. We knew that we had these teenagers that we loved and wanted to work with. And so from that sort of came this idea to tell the story of somebody who has dissociative episode and to tell it all from their point of view.
Italian Studies is the kind of movie that will leave audiences with different experiences. I know, for me, I was terrified by the idea of being lost alone in the city without any idea of who I was, but everyone will approach Alina’s story differently, and that’s what makes the film so fascinating as a whole. And whether it delights you, frightens you, or inspires you, Italian Studies is a quick and interesting watch of a movie with a New York feel that works.
You can watch our full interview here:
Italian Studies is in select theaters and available to rent on most major platforms.
(image: Magnolia Pictures)
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