Who Am I? Acting Style in the Art of Anna Magnani.

Abstract

After her performance in Rome, Open City (Roma città aperta, Roberto Rossellini, 1945), Anna Magnani (Rome, 1908-1973) was established in the history of cinema as the muse of Italian neorealism. She inspired a dialogue among filmmakers, among whom, from Roberto Rossellini to Federico Fellini, her acting was monumentalised as a paradigm. This paradigm will be discussed in this article in the context of an acting style, to propose an analysis of that style through the actress’s approach to depiction, and of how her main features gave rise to an aesthetic and a dramatic and gestural style that became a necessary hallmark of the cinema of an era.