Julian Schnabel's latest film for Netflix, *In the Hand of Dante*, is being described as a "beautifully shot mess," despite its impressive roster of talent.

The movie, which is based on a novel by Nick Tosches, features a star-studded cast that includes Oscar Isaac, Gal Gadot, and Gerard Butler, each taking on dual roles.

This development matters to audiences because a film with such a high-profile cast and a unique premise could have been a major draw for the streaming service.

Isaac portrays two characters, as does Gadot, who is the love interest for both of Isaac's roles.

Butler also takes on a dual role, appearing as both a "brutal, grouchy hit man" and Pope Boniface VIII.

The supporting cast further elevates the film's star power, with appearances from Al Pacino, Martin Scorsese, Jason Momoa, and John Malkovich.

The sheer number of high-profile actors suggests a significant investment in the production.

## The Source Material and Its Adaptation

The film draws its narrative from an "almost entirely deranged novel" by the late Nick Tosches, a writer known for his biographies of pop culture figures.

Johnny Depp reportedly purchased Tosches' literary estate for $1.2 million, having praised the author as "one of the ballsiest, most poetic, and rage-filled writers." While Tosches' nonfiction works, such as *Hellfire: The Jerry Lee Lewis Story* and *Dino: Living High in the Dirty Business of Dreams*, are lauded, his fiction, including *In the Hand of Dante*, is considered more inconsistent.

The premise of both the novel and the film centers on a writer named Nick Tosches who is enlisted by mobsters to authenticate a manuscript stolen from the Vatican archives, believed to be the original draft of Dante Alighieri's *The Divine Comedy*.

However, the film is not a straightforward thriller.

It alternates between a contemporary storyline set in 2001 and scenes from the 14th century, exploring Dante's life as he began writing his masterpiece.

## Character Portrayals and Thematic Elements

Both the fictional Nick Tosches character and Dante are played by Oscar Isaac, a casting choice that implies a comparison between the two writers.

The article notes that the Tosches character, and seemingly the real-life writer, subscribed to a mindset that emphasizes a "ballsy" masculinity in creative pursuits.

This is exemplified by the character's interactions, such as winning approval from Butler's hit man for refusing to extinguish a cigarette.

The film's medieval scenes feature characters speaking in "cod-Shakespearean blank verse" with "vaguely British accents." Gal Gadot, as Dante's wife Gemma, delivers lines such as, "Was not the blood of friendship of greater value than the honeyed wine of verse?" Isaac's Dante is depicted as prone to "fits of ecstatic inspiration," gazing at the sky as an alternative to Christian monotheism, which the Tosches character labels "the root of all evil." This portrayal contrasts with the historical Dante, a devout Catholic and politician, who structured his *Divine Comedy* with a clear, hierarchical view of the afterlife.

In the contemporary scenes, the film presents a scenario where a gangster operation relies on a writer for authentication.

Isaac's character handles what are presumably priceless pages without the necessary archival gloves, raising questions about the realism of the portrayal.

The article concludes by noting that the film eventually descends into silliness, exemplified by a dream sequence featuring Gadot appearing naked on a clamshell, akin to Botticelli's Venus.