Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: SENECA [Berlinale 2023 - Berlin, Germany]

The aspect of verbal sarcasm as a point of reference of history is always an interesting idea to play in satire but always depends on the actors playing it. "Seneca" (Berlinale Special Gala) is a very dynamic but unbalanced at times progression of a highly focused senator during the time of Nero who believes too much of his own worth in the face of tyrant (in this case Nero). John Malkovich plays Seneca with a melancholy and a knowing that everyone around him is idiots but he needs them to make sure that his voice is heard and the money flows, even when he is silent. His diatribes go on long past when anyone is listening. Initially it takes a bit to get used to the vernacular because it is a mix of slang, profanity and high end would-be psychological psycho-babble made to confuse yet precisely on point.

"Seneca" for the most part, takes place over 2 days when Seneca himself must eventually meet his end by his own approach or by another more pronounced deed by Alex (a pronounced and effective Andrew Koji). Koji is the one that gets the most cinematic textures including a beautiful tracking shots across volcanic rocks. Robert Schwenke, best known for directing the Divergent series, wrote and directed "Seneca" which is subtitled "On The Creation Of Earthquakes". The film does both take itself controversially but also in the irony of its own stead. Shot very simply and as a play but with a beautiful backdrop (it would be interesting to know the location), it mars the line of real within these people's lives and the drama they are creating themselves.

Seneca's idea of "living on" versus his wife Paulina (played by Lilith Stangenberg) is interesting because he is an older man with her as his trophy wife and yet she knows her own ambitions. Geraldine Chapin as Lucia gets some of the best moments with Malkovich that are both on-point and reverential which is interesting because of her own lineage to a man that will still be remembered in 200 years for his artistic endeavors. Mary Louise Parker plays Appripina, Nero's mother and that "RED" connection plays very well because there is humor in this story that can only end one way. Ultimately "Seneca" is a story of privilege taken away but with the idea of what legacy can create when properly motivated. B

By Tim Wassberg