SummaryLuciano, a charming and affable fishmonger, becomes obsessed with being a contestant on the reality show “Big Brother” leading him down a rabbit hole of skewed perceptions and paranoia. So overcome by his dream of being on reality TV, Luciano’s own reality begins to spiral out of control. [Oscilloscope Pictures ]
Directed By:Matteo Garrone
Written By:Matteo Garrone, Massimo Gaudioso, Maurizio Braucci, Ugo Chiti
Reality
Metascore
Generally Favorable
76
User score
Generally Favorable
7.1
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
67% Positive
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
33% Mixed
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Mar 28, 2013
100
The movie’s a funny, dark, increasingly razor-sharp inquiry into the metaphysics of modern fame — how the dream of “being seen” and thus validated on some primal level can completely unhinge the average schmo.
Mar 14, 2013
90
Reality is a story about one man’s desire to make it big on the small screen, and something of a familiar exploration of the blurring between reality and its simulations. More elliptically and more interestingly, it is also a look at an Italy engrossed with rituals and spectacle, in watching and being watched.
Mar 18, 2013
83
With a jaunty musical score by Alexandre Desplat and a pleasant visual style aided by Marco Onorato’s colorful cinematography, Garrone delivers a story that’s part fairy tale, part religious allegory and part scathing indictment.
Mar 15, 2013
80
The film belongs to Arena, outstanding as a man growing ever more delusional in his quest to acquire celebrity status.
Mar 11, 2013
63
Matteo Garrone has a sure eye for outlandish set pieces that exhibit the expansive outlines of his ideas, but these spectacles are sporadic, and the spaces between them tend to lag.
Mar 8, 2013
60
It's a likable film played with gusto and heart — though fundamentally a little sentimental and predictable.
Mar 12, 2013
40
This vision of contemporary Italy as a warped fairyland filled with corpulent slobs and seedy C-grade celebrities recalls the tough-love spectacle of Fellini’s "La Dolce Vita," but Reality frustratingly devolves into a far more tedious mass-media morality tale.
User score
Generally Favorable
67% Positive
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
27% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
7% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
Jun 4, 2019
10
Wonderful. Realistic. Surreal. A true good movie. Happy to see it had success.
Sep 17, 2025
7
This film has a more documentary or chamber play-like quality, essentially reenacting the interrogation transcript of the FBI's 2017 raid on Reality Winner's home. Thus, the script largely lacks any artistic license and follows the chronological pattern of the interrogation. Nevertheless, the film is never boring or drawn out. Rather, it provides a deep insight into the FBI's interrogation methods and forces the viewer to ask, "How far can one go to reveal the truth to citizens in a democracy that has been deliberately withheld from them?" Tina Satter's film fails to answer the question, attempting to present the facts to the viewer step by step from a neutral perspective. The film is worth watching primarily because of the acting, especially that of Sidney Sweeney.
Production Company:
- Fandango
- Archimede
- Le Pacte
- Garance Capital
- Rai Cinema
- Soficinéma 7
- Coficup
- Cinémage 6
- Canal+
- Intesa San Paolo
- Regione Lazio
- Backup Media
- Sofica Manon 2
Release Date:Mar 15, 2013
Duration:1 h 56 m
Rating:R
Tagline:Follow Your Dreams!
Awards
David di Donatello Awards
• 3 Wins & 11 Nominations
Golden Ciak Awards
• 3 Wins & 6 Nominations
Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists
• 3 Wins & 4 Nominations
