Romanzo criminale

Rome, 1960s. Three young criminals, Lebanese (Pierfrancesco Favino), Ice (Kim Rossi Stuart) and Dandy (Claudio Santamaria), with the help of a makeshift gang of other rogues, including Black (Riccardo Scamarcio), an extremist who thinks he’s the last samurai, kidnap and brutally kill a rich proprietor. With the ransom money in hand, they decide to invest it, together, in the heroine business. It’s the birth of a smart and ruthless organization, which crushes all its rivals, assumes total control of the drug trade, imposes brutal criminal laws on Rome, becomes allies with the Mafia and at the same time benefits from the protection of those faceless men the government assigns their dirty work to. Meanwhile, the authorities are absorbed in a fight against national terrorism and underestimate the flood of dirty money and violence preying upon Rome, the only one who senses the devastating power of these new gangsters is Captain Scialoja (Stefano Accorsi). In order to destroy them, Scialoja unscrupulously gets involved in a dangerous relationship with Patrizia (Anna Mouglalis), a intriguing prostitute, who also happens to be Dandy’s girl. It’s a relationship in which both of them get in way over their heads and initial intentions. Meanwhile, after the organization hits the apex of its success, things inexorably head towards disaster: more and more often, Lebanese manifests his overblown sense of greatness in maniacal ways; disgusted by relationships with Mafia and politicians, Ice thinks about retiring with Roberta (Jasmine Trinca), a “clean” girl who he is madly in love with; Dandy starts to deal on his own. The crew unites again to vindicate the death of Lebanese, who was stabbed to death for a gambling debt that he proudly refused to honor. But, the reunion is short lived: framed by an informer, Ice, Dandy and all the others are arrested. Ice manages to escape, while Dandy is acquitted thanks to his influential friends. The gang is now divided: this marks the beginning of a period of vendettas and a succession of murders…

A chilling political thriller adapted by award-winning actor and director Michele Placido from the bestseller novel by Giancarlo De Cataldo.