A man nearing fifty is confronted with his life and what he's made of it, and in doing so, tries to make things right. Fellini is most known for the fantastic and extravagance of his later work, but he is no less profound when he keeps it simple.

magnificente

I would classify everything about this film as "good": the acting is good, the characters are good, the story is good, the cinematography is good, the is good. Not among Fellini's masterpieces, but without any glaring drawbacks. I was hoping for more of the Basehart/Masina plot but they completely drop out of sight by the third act. The movie is short on the kind of memorable scenes one expects from Fellini, but the various swindles are entertaining and the ending is superb.

729

For me, the highlight of the film was the party sequence at Rinaldo's. Fellini knows how to film a party, and it's in this scene that our sympathies begin to shift to the low-level grifters. (I like how Fellini doesn't sentimentalize what they do. They aren't Robin Hood types; they steal from the poor and give to themselves. That they remain ostracized and unfulfilled is their only virtue.)

#784

A very dark vision that isn't always pleasant to look at but is nonetheless fascinating.

# 703

Definitely liked the neo-realist flourishes from Fellini here, particularly in the swindle of the small village. I continue to be mesmerized by the playful spirit in Fellini's early work, which to some degree both masks and informs the darker undertones of the narrative. I found the final conclusion here less satisfying than Cabiria or I Vitteloni, but the swindle that leads up to it with Augusto as the monseigneur is outstanding.

My favorite Fellini.

While not quite as brilliant as La Strada or Nights of Cabiria, The Swindle is still a great movie, particularly thanks to the ending. Not unlike those two, it makes you feel strongly for a lowlife, a character you would never want to meet.

It's interesting not in that the main character gets a conscience, but in that he almost gets one.

732