Nicoletta Braschi's naturalism gives Roberto Benigni's extravagant comedy a useful steadiness. We value her as more than a romantic counterpart, though those parts can undersell her; the dramatic work deserves attention alongside the courtships.
Fi1m perspective
In the courtship scenes of Life Is Beautiful (1997), Roberto Benigni's Guido makes trying to win Dora look like strenuous work. Nicoletta Braschi plays the woman who makes the effort worthwhile, without having to match his extravagance. We laughed at his attempts because Benigni throws himself into each invention with so little embarrassment. Braschi's naturalism matters here: the romance needs someone we can believe in while he is being ridiculous. We like her in this quieter job, even as we wish it gave her more to do.
Her screen work began alongside Benigni in Tu mi turbi (1983), but it was never confined to his films. Jim Jarmusch cast her in Down by Law (1986) and Mystery Train (1989), before Johnny Stecchino (1991) brought another substantial Benigni partnership. Comedy and drama, leading parts and ensemble work, sit alongside one another rather than falling into tidy separate periods. The recurring assignment is more specific: she is often the romantic or familial counterpart to Benigni's characters.
That familiarity can obscure the dramatic work. In Ovosodo (1997), her teacher Giovanna Fornari offers a useful place to look beyond the Benigni films. There is a reservation about her restraint, too: in the theatre, her measured playing of Beckett's Winnie in Giorni felici has drawn criticism for lacking intensity. Nor should affection for Braschi excuse Life Is Beautiful, whose romance we enjoy but whose softened Holocaust setting makes its reassurance hard to accept.
After a long gap, she returned in Happy as Lazzaro (2018), playing Marchesa Alfonsina De Luna for Alice Rohrwacher. She also appeared in The White Crow (2018). Those later credits are a reason to keep looking beyond the Benigni partnership, rather than let its familiarity settle our judgement of her. Start with the courtship in Life Is Beautiful for the familiar Braschi, then try Ovosodo for the dramatic actor that familiarity can conceal.
Biography
Nicoletta Braschi is an Italian actress and producer. She trained at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Rome, where she met actor and director Roberto Benigni in 1980. They married in 1991 and have frequently collaborated on screen.
Braschi is known for her roles in Benigni's films, including Maria in Johnny Stecchino (1991) and Dora in Life Is Beautiful (1997). She has also appeared in Jim Jarmusch's Down by Law (1986) and Mystery Train (1989), and in Happy as Lazzaro (2018). She won a David di Donatello award and was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild award for her work in Life Is Beautiful. In 2002 she served on the jury at the Berlin International Film Festival.
