Video Essay: The Vitality of Monica Vitti

More than any other performer in Antonioni’s films from this period (and not simply due the frequency of her being cast), Vitti—with her open face and her weighted gait—seemed to embody and exemplify Andrew Sarris’s fairly self-explanatory neologism “Antoniennui.” Yet, on revisiting the four Vitti-Antonioni collaborations, I gradually came to notice and appreciate the spectrum of humanity and emotion on display, even if said spectrum ultimately skews towards the negative. For all the sullen gazes and silent sighs, there are notable moments of levity, even joy, and many if not most (if not all) featuring Vitti in some capacity. But rather than undercutting Antonioni’s exploration of modern psychic illness, such instances of positivity and playfulness establish his characters as more than mere personifications of theme. And if this is not entirely true for all Antonioni’s characters, Vitti’s are, at the very least, roundedly human, and this lends their psychological plights a measure of relatability.