Stefano Sollima on Netflix Sex Murders Series ‘Monster of Florence’

The Italian genre specialist Stefano Sollima -the best known for the grim TV “Gomorrah” and films such as “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” and “Without Levening” -spent more than a year investigating the still unreleased business in the heart of his new Netflix Festival “.

The title of the show is given the name to the alleged serial killer, who in the course of 17 years of the late 1960s until the mid -1980s committed eight double murders, which parked in couples in cars in remote places around Florence. “The Monster” always used the same weapon, a Beretta of 22 caliber.

The Limited series with four episodes, which falls on Netflix on October 22, was largely shot on location in Florence and the surroundings. It Rentigts Sollima with writer Leonardo Fasoli and Ace Italian cinematographer Paolo Carnera, both Sollima worked on “Gomorra”.

Sollima spoke against Variety In Venice about how he approached this horrible material and why he chose to follow various research strands in the cold case, starting with the person known as the ‘Sardinian lead role’, produced by a Sardine couple who lived in Tuscany with unfaithful problems.

What did you go to this project?

The story actually chose me. Of all the possible projects I had, it is the one who noticed me the most. I started reading books about the case and although they were very authoritative, they all had a mistake: each had its own position and somewhat bent reality to support their theory. So I said, “Oh my God, it’s a very complex story! But it must be told in a way that is not banal.” It is the problem of how do you tell the story of a study that includes a long period and how do you tell this story without embracing a theory?

Then we came up with the idea of ​​using the hunt for the Florence monster as an overall background, but with another suspect in every episode. This allowed us to prevent us from choosing a research theory. By doing this, we were able to embrace all theories and broaden the story somewhat, which is not just a piece of crime. By describing the suspects individually enabled us to investigate Monster in a broader sense – not only the alleged monster of Florence, but also the Wangersdcht who showed some of these characters in their intimate relationships, family relationships and friendships. So suddenly we realized that the story became much wider and not so much centered on the hunt for the monster of Florence, but rather a study by humans and how he is a carrier of evil.

One thing that struck me is that the research magistrate, who is a woman, shows that the violence is specifically aimed at women. That element seems to be part of the wider story, am I right?

Absolute. It was one of the elements that we fell, because if you revive all documents with regard to the very first murder, you will notice the prejudice that existed from the researchers. They found a dead woman with her loved one, so what did they do clearly? They went looking for another lover, which is a form of prejudices that will be their obsession. And so they start to lose other documents that might have been crucial to resolve the case. The way the bodies were found was also emblematic. We have done really painful research, especially because we had to see material that might be better left unseen. It suggested that this was a form of violence, of course very aimed at women.

Compared to “Gomorra”, the tone in “Monster” is more reluctant. It is of course a carefully investigated crime drama and a historical piece. How did you set this tone?

“Gomorrah” was inspired by true stories, but we had more creative freedom because the names of the characters were not really. Here we made a fully opposite choice because we have chosen to use the real names of the protagonists. The moment you make and implement that choice, you no longer have room for dramatization or creative intervention. Creative intervention comes down to simply deciding how the material can be organized narrative. So paradoxically, it is as if you are forced to take a step back by your own approach. In terms of the physical representation of the violence of the murders, I saw photos, some taken by forensic scientists, and it really hurt me to look at them. Of course you have to face the problem of how to organize the murders, right? Do you change them in spectacle? You write a genre story, so that can be good, right? No. Absolutely not – also out of respect for the real victims.

So what do you do? You have to find a compromise in which you tell what is strictly necessary to understand the atmosphere of the story. Perhaps that is part of the reluctance that you feel. Then the violence is depicted in the psychological exploration of the characters, but that is also very respectful for the original story. It was not necessary to reflect on details, with the help of Gore and Splatter.

A common element “Monster” has “Gomorra” is that they are shot by the same cinematograph, Paolo Carnera. What kind of notes did you give him?

We have formed the visuals to start with some basic facts. One is that our story would largely take place at night, which was clearly a limitation in the productions, especially for a streamer audience. So we tried to find out how we can maintain a natural photographic approach, but without making it completely black, as it would have been in reality. The monster hit the moonless nights precisely because he used the virtually total darkness. So we started from the darkness, and we noticed that we figure out how we could make the scenes visible with the style and the ability that Paolo I have known for centuries. I think he is one of the masters of cinematography and world class at night. We have been a thorough tested, well -oiled team, so we don’t even have to talk that much. It is quite instinctive.