Youth has nothing new to say, its Italian thematic aesthetic nothing more than a mask for an emotional schadenfreude impossible to take pleasure in.

Sorrentino wants to say something profound about illnesses that bury loved ones alive. But the pompous lines kill the mood.

Occasionally the warring elements come together, finding plaintive and heartfelt song amid the cacophony of seemingly random voices.

Paolo Sorrentino's 'Youth' is a picture convinced that it says more than it does, heavy on mood, bewitching cinematography and acting prowess and light on consistency of character and narrative breadth.