
An ok movie with a lot of potential. Unfortunately a lot of this potential was not implemented correctly, opting instead to fall back on cliches instead of fully exploring its themes.
The lead actors of each of the three sub-plots deliver a good performance overall, with only side characters under-acting (most notably Sarlot's grandmother).
Cinematography on the other hand is not anything special, almost completely devoid of character and really flat at points.
The main issue with the movie is that out of the three stories it follows, only one is actually compelling and surprises the viewer. This is the story of Lucio, the man on the first floor, played by Riccardo Scamarcio, who delivers the best performance in the film.
The other two stories are bland and predictable, telling the story of a mother estranged from her son due to her failures as a parent and another story of a woman that just became a mother, but has a husband that is mostly absent from her life due to work. The estranged mother story includes scenes that are mostly inconsequential and needlessly pad the movies runtime, while the only notable surprise of the new mother story is unfortunately a red herring, to put it mildly. Both of these stories are filled with the cliches similar stories have established over the years.
Also, the movies runtime of 119 minutes is not justified, since the most interesting story (Lucio's) climaxes in the middle of the film, leaving the film to drag on after that point, since nothing more tense or exciting happens after this. The stories, while they are kind of intertwined in the opening scene of the movie, almost completely break off into their own thing immediately, leaving a lot of squandered potential on the table.
Overall, this was an alright movie that could have been more impactful and interesting if it was more focused, maybe even not telling two of the three stories it barely manages to flesh out.