i'm so glad we're currently living a luca marinelli renaissance thanks to death stranding 2 (kojima you're a genius for casting him, of course i'm obsessed with neil vana) and i wanted to recommend my favourite luca's work with brief opinions for anyone who's interested to dive in his filmography because the range of this man is IMPRESSIVE like what even is typecasting? luca doesn't know for sure and i want everyone to know more about this talented actor, so...
movies/series you can't miss:
• Martin Eden (2019): based on jack london's book (read about his political views before watching the movie), drop-dead gorgeous luca, phenomenal performance, neapolitan accent/dialect (i will mention the different accents or dialects because it's an important part of the italian culture and sometimes it underlines class differences, like in this case), stunning photography, the role that made him win the volpi cup for best actor, as guadagnino said: the camera loves luca's face
• They Call Me Jeeg (2015): americans have the joker, italians have this freaky bastard from the poor outskirts of rome obsessed with 80s female italian pop aka LO ZINGARO and i love that for us, unfortunately it might be hard to enjoy this movie if you're not italian because it's very ROMAN so you'll miss many socio-cultural references and a lot of the roman dialect/slang gets lost in the translation ("stocazzo" becomes "fuck you", really prime video??) anyway, he's incredible here too and he started receiving a lot of attention thanks to this role, but luca's performance aside, this movie is extremely crude and it can be triggering (rape, transphobia) so beware, i don't like the treatment of the female character
• Don't Be Bad (2015): one of his best roles, heartbreaking and tragic character, what i said about the italian/roman aspect before applies to this movie too because it's set in another poor roman neighbourhood and shows life at the margins PLUS thanks to this movie luca and alessandro borghi became close friends and now they're basically brothers, they really have an amazing chemistry... sadly the director passed away shortly after the wrap and luca always talks about him with so much respect and tenderness
• The Eight Mountains (2022): possibly my favourite one? based on an italian book and luca's second movie with borghi where they "play" close friends (basically their second bromance, this time without coke), if you don't mind long and slow movies please don't hesitate to watch this, great acting, amazing soundtrack and scenery (italy and nepal), such an emotional and tender story that left me feeling both sad and hopeful at the end, watching this on the big screen was like a spiritual experience and it made me feel the urge to reconnect with nature, i love luca's character
• Trust fx (series, 2018): watch this. WATCH THIS. please. did i mention that you must watch this? watch this. yes, he is a horrible person here (a mafioso) and unfortunately he's awfully good at playing evil characters, what can i say? the way he changes his demeanor and body language, the way he completely transforms into primo (as he does with every single character actually), the calabrian dialect, the way he looks delicious with a fucking 70s PORNSTACHE and a BOB CUT i hate this man so much... plus all of his outfits and his ass shots BYE thank you danny boyle i owe you my life. WATCH IT. that said, luca talked about how it was important for him to treat this role seriously and with extra care since this is actually a real story and mafia is a huge horrible issue in italy
• Mussolini: Son of the Century (series, 2025): i've only watched clips because i don't know where to find it sigh... i'm adding this anyway because this was probably the biggest and most important role of his life, apparently (and i believe it from what i've seen) he's phenomenal in it!! in many interviews he explains how emotionally painful it was to impersonate mussolini for 7 months as an antifascist, but working with joe wright was an amazing artistic opportunity and he also wanted to take his small part of the responsibility in spreading this antifascist message (should i translate some of those interviews?) AND he made many right-winged italians sooo angry because of his declarations, go luca make those little men cry harder!!!
• Paternal Leave (2025): again, i wasn't able to go see this at the cinema and now i regret it so much you have no idea BUT i'll put it here because it seems very good and exactly what i like (luca, daddy issues, set in places i know in my region) and i think it hasn't come out outside of italy yet, so go watch it when you have the possibility, i hope soon!! important to mention that it was directed by alissa jung (luca's wife) and it's a german/italian movie, so it's very european and they speak three languages
• The Old Guard (2020): now, i know objectively it's not the greatest movie but this story is very important to me and i love how it's not the typical male gaze action movie made to please cishet men, also thanks to it many non-italians got to know luca and his talent (and pretty face, but god that hairstyle and those sideburns WHY), anyway, i loved how many people watched tog and thought luca was an average actor because let's be honest, he struggles with english (i get you luca) and nicky is a calm/soft-spoken side character, but then they watched his other movies and were like "wait so nicky was like that on purpose?? wait actually his MICROEXPRESSIONS are so good?" yeah that was nice to witness
movies/series worth mentioning:
• Every Blessed Day (2012): such a sweet and comforting movie, luca's character here is so husband material like he's the only man ever, guido caselli or no one else i'm so serious... oh and he has a tuscan accent, he sounds quite funny (many accents in this movie, sicilian and roman too if i recall correctly)
• Il Padre d'Italia (or There Is a Light, 2017): road trip across italy, the director is gay, luca's character is gay, some choices are a bit clumsy and might annoy some people but everything makes more sense if you're aware of the religious iconography/nativity analogy... what else? internalised homophobia, identity crisis, different kinds of love and relationships, italian social issues (i really like the original title "Italia's Father") and fun fact: this is the second movie in which luca sings "non sono una signora" (they call me jeeg was the first one) but doing it twice is still not enough in my opinion
• Remember? (2018): kinda peculiar and not for everyone but if you're a nostalgic, melancholic, romantic, sad bitch like me you could appreciate it (damn i wish i could add more than 10 pics)
• Rainbow: A private Affair (2017): he plays an italian partisan during the second world war, apparently the movie doesn't live up to the book but hey he's handsome (even though he gets called ugly)!! and he's a partisan!! yeah you choose for yourself
• A Dangerous Fortune (2016): if you want to see luca play a manwhore speaking german go for it
• Up to the World (2013): nice shots in patagonia i guess? i don't think it's worth it but i remember luca's character gesticulating with a chick in his hand and it was cute as hell
• Fabrizio De André: Principe libero (2018): the biopic about one of the greatest italian songwriters, i don't know how enjoyable it could be for international fans but luca is a great singer and he looks handsome as usual, he should speak with a genoese accent but he doesn't even try here lmao he's simply his roman self but you wouldn't notice unless you can recognise italian accents, so that's fine i guess
• Waves (2012): thriller in the sea. honestly i don't remember anything but luca looks hot.
• Slam (2016) and Let Yourself Go (2017): please do NOT watch these movies, they're bad and luca is only a side character so watch only his scenes because guess what? he's hot. and he has the RANGE.
okay that's it, there are other movies/series i haven't watched so feel free to add your opinions or correct me!!
lastly, i'm happy he's getting attention and i hope he'll receive the recognition he deserves but PLEASE treat him well, luca is literally the only italian man who deserves to live (i recommend checking his interviews, he's an interesting and sensiteve person)... hope this can help a little!
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