The Unlikely Duo Meets a Film That Doesn’t Deliver
In the centre of the bustling Italian film festival, the promised cinematic spectacle of The Bunker proved anything but spectacular. Pennélope Cruz and Javier Bardem step onto the red carpet as a glamorous couple—Sofia and Miguel—but the film they bring to the screen falls far short of the promise of star power alone. Florian Zeller, whose debut feature was organised specifically for the screen rather than adapted from existing stage material, offers instead a shallow thriller that skirts its subject matter and undercuts its leads. While the pair have previously demonstrated considerable range, their chemistry in this role appears more suited to romantic melodramas than the introspective drama that Zeller ostensibly aspires to. The result is a narrative that feels hollow, a tale of alienation and class division rendered thin by mediocre execution and a conclusion that dissolves into absurdity.
A Setup That Could Have Been Richer
The story begins with Miguel, a celebrated architect who has designed a magnificent Victorian terrace house standing beside Sofia and their teenage daughters in London. Their lives change when an enigmatic tech billionaire, played by Paul Dano, seeks Miguel’s expertise to construct a luxurious survivalist bunker in Hawaii—a project described by his shrewd agent Mark Gatiss as “pharaonic.” Sofia immediately recoils at the notion of surrendering family finances to an arrogant plutocrat, yet Miguel is torn between refusing such a deal and succumbing to the temptation of the enormous sum offered. What follows is a strained correspondence between a loving spouse and a partner slowly corroded by envy, jealousy, and the pressure of ambition. The screenplay attempts to explore themes of isolation and social hierarchy, but the execution falters under the weight of its own mediocrity. A pivotal marital argument sequence hints at deeper dysfunction, suggesting that the couple’s relationship could have served as the film’s emotional core—if only it were given proper attention—and the buzz around the venue quickly curdled into disillusionment.
