Valeria Golino is best known in the U.S. as the leading lady in Rain Man and a star of the Hot Shots! comedies. In Golino's first feature-length film as a director—winning the Ecumenical Jury Prize at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival—Honey is the nickname of Irene (Jasmine Trinca), a young woman who makes her living by traveling to Mexico from Italy once a month to buy dog-euthanizing barbiturates that she then delivers to terminally ill individuals seeking to end their lives. Irene's family and friends are unaware of her “job,” and she herself gives little thought to its moral dimensions—until she discovers that one of her clients, Mr. Grimaldi (Carlo Cecchi), obtained the drugs for a different reason: he's not dying, but suicidal. As Irene tries to recover the lethal drugs from Grimaldi, the pair form a distinctive intellectual and emotional bond. Golino wisely avoids sermonizing about the thorny central subject, instead offering a complex story of two emotionally isolated people brought together through the unlikeliest of situations. A commendable effort from Golino, who seems poised for a great second career behind the camera, this is recommended. (P. Hall)
Honey
Kino Lorber, 97 min., in Italian w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $29.95 Volume 30, Issue 2
Honey
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