Modigliani – Three Days on the Wing of Madness
Riccardo Scamarcio plays Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani in Modigliani – Three Days on the Wing of Madness. Directed by Johnny Depp, the feature follows the titular artist, better known to his friends as Modi, throughout the course of three days in war-torn Paris in 1916. He’s penniless, on the run from the police, and is rarely sober. He’s the definition of the starving Bohemian artist. However, he believes that his life is about to change when his art dealer and friend, Leopold Zborowski (Stephen Graham), informs him that a collector is very interested in buying his work. What follows is a chaotic odyssey of the artist’s escapades that struggles to balance its oddball comedy with a more serious character study.
The film opens with Modi sketching portraits of patrons at a café for the upper class. Within minutes, he’s making rude gestures with a baguette, crashing through a window, and fleeing from the law in a slapstick chase sequence reminiscent of Scooby-Doo, all while a saxophone screeches in the soundtrack. It’s an altogether strange comedic tone that’s only enhanced when he joins his friends, fellow artists Maurice Utrillo (Bruno Gouery) and Chaïm Soutine (Ryan McParland), for a drink and toilet humour is introduced into the equation. Scamarcio takes the insanity in his stride, bringing a large helping of roguish charm to the film. Gouery and McParland also give solid performances; however, they aren’t given much to do outside of being the eccentric comedy sidekicks.
When he isn’t getting into trouble, Modi talks with his muse, Beatrice Hastings (Antonia Desplat), about his dreams of quitting Paris and discusses the nature of art. Hastings gives this feature another impressive performance, but the script has little to say when it comes to its topics of choice. Instead, it heavily plays into the romanticised trope of the suffering and misunderstood artist. The most interesting aspect of this flick is its glimpses into Modi’s traumatic past. Manifesting as haunting visions of a plague doctor and other grisly sights, these moments are darkly creative and allow Depp to flex his filmmaking muscles. It’s frustrating, then, that this is as far as the script delves into this part of the artist’s psyche.
Although there are flashes of greatness throughout Modigliani, its imbalanced tone and hollow script turn Depp’s second feature into a largely unfulfilling outing.
Andrew Murray
Modigliani – Three Days on the Wing of Madness is released nationwide on 11th July and on digital on 4th August 2025.
Watch the trailer for Modigliani – Three Days on the Wing of Madness here:
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