I went to see "Romanzo Criminale" with very high hopes. Michele Placido made one of the best Italian films of the 90's "Un Eroe Borghese" with a superlative Fabrizio Bentivoglio. There he touched a delicate real life story and treated with the vigor of a vintage Costa Gavras. I regret to inform, none of that is evident in "Romanzo Criminale" The great bunch of young Italian actors assembled in one film! A story of friendship and betrayal, paralleled to the turbulent 70's. But something, definitely, went tragically wrong. The film seems rushed and thoughtless. Kim Rossi Stuart, one of the best of his generation, is wonderful to watch but his character swings from gloomy to gloomier and we're ask to feel compassion for him - although we're not allow to grieve for his victims. Half way through the film I started to get impatient and glancing at my watch. I felt detached, unmoved. The last nail in the coffin of this unfortunate venture is the casting of Stefano Accorsi. It may have been a commercial decision, Accorsi is a big star in Italy, but the idea backfired in a big way. His story is as convoluted as it is unbelievable. He doesn't have the strength or the power to transmit the ambiguity of his character. The women are treated as virgins or whores and what else is new. This time, I don't think, nobody can complain of lack of funds. I suspect they went for a commercial operation with fast cutting and a popular score with several well known hits from the 70's on. All together a disappointing experience.