Netflix’s The Life Ahead – A Solid Yet Shallow Drama (Early Review)

Welcome back Sophia Loren. If anything, The Life Ahead, based on the book by Romain Gary, should be appreciated as it marks the on screen return of the acting legend. While her presence is definitely felt throughout the film thanks to a powerful performance in her own right, she is arguably overshadowed by the performance of her newcomer co-star. Though the story is one that is sure to tug on some audiences’ heartstrings, its basic nature won’t be for everyone, not to mention just life for any foreign film, the language barrier (in this case, Italian) also won’t be for everyone. However, despite some truly beautiful imagery, the story fails to compensate for both its main characters, resulting in a shallow experience. Nevertheless, its aforementioned lead performances certainly make the film still worth the watch as its relatively short running time, clocking in at around the 90 minute mark is just enough for what it is but some viewers will be left wanting more.

As mentioned, The Life Ahead takes place in a costal Italian village and tells the story of an elderly Holocaust survivor named Madame Rosa (Loren) who runs a daycare business to support herself. Meanwhile, she would eventually cross paths with Momo (Gueye), a 12-year-old Senegalese orphan refuge who lived mostly on the streets. Soon after he robbed her, Momo found himself in the case of a reluctant Madame Rosa after he was surrendered by his ailing guardian, Dr. Coen (Carpentieri), who was also her doctor. Told from Momo’s perspective, the film tries to tell his and Rosa’s stories but never gets too deep with either one. While the film still creates somewhat of an emotional connection with these characters, there was still something missing to make any worthwhile connection. As Momo struggled with his new surroundings, stuck between two worlds in an attempt to find some semblance of connection, an ailing Madame Rosa’s health was failing as she was haunted by her past.

In spite of the lacking subplots, The Life Ahead was about the connection between Madame Rosa and Momo and for that, the film succeeded more often than not. It admittedly had its ups and downs as their resulting trajectories was inevitable but this did not make it any less emotional to watch as a fair share of moments were there. Momo’s story was the more developed one of the two therefore was the most compelling to watch as he essentially had to grow up and learn to open himself to people who truly cared about him. Madame Rosa proved to be a driving force in that as he helped her in the end. Though she was tough with him as much as the other children in her care, she was the steady hand he needed while he was the grounding force she needed.

Though the beauty of the Italian countryside goes without saying, ultimately, the best part of The Life Ahead were the great performances from Loren and Gueye as Madame Rosa and Momo respectively. As Madame Rosa, Loren brings her legendary screen presence to a damaged character that demands authority while providing plenty of grace and warmth. She could have used more depth but her performance was still a heartbreaking one. What is sure to be the more talked about performance was Gueye’s as Momo. The charisma, presence, and energy he brought to the role made him so relatable and compelling to watch as his arc was undoubtedly the film’s strongest despite needing some more depth as well.

At the end of the day, The Life Ahead is still a solid time to be had if not to bask in the glory that is Sophia Loren. It’s just a shame that she wasn’t surrounded by a stronger story.

still courtesy of Netflix

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.