MOVIE REVIEW : ‘Forever Mary’--A New Spin on the Reform School Genre

“Forever Mary” (at the Monica 4-Plex) tells the familiar story of an idealistic teacher trying to make a difference in a reform school in such a traditional, straightforward style that it’s easy to overlook its freshness and imagination.

More often than not, situations that seem typical tend to lead to surprises. Directed by Marco Risi with passion and grace, the film has the warmth and easy vitality that make Italian films so beguiling, and it affords its durable star Michele Placido one of his richest roles.

Recoiling from the breakup of a relationship, Placido has given up a prestigious teaching post in Milan to return to his native Palermo. To fill up the time before he assumes a position awaiting him there, he agrees to a temporary assignment at the Rosaspina reformatory. Rosaspina is neither the hell-hole of the Western world nor a country club. It is a sunny, well-maintained institution with an urbane young director who likes to think of himself as enlightened but has actually already commenced to despair. His head guard has come to think of the teen-age inmates as animals, and at any given moment one prisoner can find himself at the mercy of a bigger, more powerful prisoner. Rosaspina can be a highly dangerous place, charged with rage and sexual frustration.

The strength of “Forever Mary,” which Sandro Petraglia and Stefano Rulli wrote from Aurelio Grimaldi’s adaptation of his novel, is that it affirms the value of the individual and resists judging anyone, reserving its anger for the Mafia for blighting the lives of Sicilians for untold generations. Rather than mounting a protest, the film suggests that it is possible for a caring person to affect the lives of others.

(There is one very damaging lapse in the film’s humanity: Placido expresses outrage at the head guard for beating a prisoner who has sexually molested a female psychologist but shows no concern for her whatsoever.)

Of course, the teen-agers in Placido’s class initially give him a very hard time, but he proves to be a man of immense calm and self-control. Gradually, his pupils begin to respond to him and emerge as individuals in the process.

Among them is the most hostile youth, Natale (Francesco Benigno), who killed his Mafioso father’s assassin. Well into the film there’s a new arrival, Mario (Alessandro di Sanzo), a 16-year-old transvestite prostitute who calls himself Mary and who is immediately attracted to his handsome teacher. Not surprisingly, Mary is greeted by derisive hoots and hollers yet thereafter is left alone, which seems amazing--until he himself explains that the inmates may shun him by day but come to him for sex at night.

“Forever Mary” (Times-rated Mature for adult themes, some violence) ends on a note that is as sentimental as it is predictable, but at least the heart-tugging has been well-earned.

‘Forever Mary’

Michele Placido: Marco Terzi

Francesco Benigno: Natale

Alessandro di Sanzo: Mario/Mary

Claudio Amendola; Pietro

A Cinevista release of a Numero Uno International Sri production. Director Marco Risi. Producer Claudio Bonivento. Screenplay Sandro Petraglia and Stefano Rulli, from Aurelio Grimaldi’s story from his novel “Meri per Sempre.” Music Giancarlo Bigazzi. In Italian, with English subtitles. Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes.

Times-rated Mature (for adult themes, some violence).