TORONTO – Much has been written about a certain “psychodrama” coming out of Rome, about what journalists have playfully termed the Royal family of Rome. This is a reference of course to some people’s preoccupation with Ilary Blasi’s former marriage to retired Footballer Francesco Totti. Fortunately, for those who are desperately seeking answers about their dissolved marriage, Ilary Blasi and her team of filmmakers have documented her side of the story.
While much of her “interview” is shot in a studio, some of her testimony is curiously delivered while getting her hair done in a salon. There is even footage of Ilary watching birds flutter outside of her window. It’s all very riveting, the tense music, the lighting and Ilary’s cued sense of bewilderment whenever her ex-husband’s actions come into question. To some, the documentary might play like a TV pitch for “Housewives of Rome”. To others, like an act of vendetta.
With “Unica”, Ilary sets out to “clear things up”, to tell her truth, to correct the public’s perception that she was cheating on her now ex-husband. The majority of Ilary’s truth interestingly enough, reflects positively on Totti. As it turns out, “Francesco has always been a happy guy. In 20 years I don’t remember any big fights with him. Our relationship has always been happy. We always had sex, maybe more than couples that have been together for 20 years”, says Ilary as she over shares. In fact, for most of the documentary Ilary praises her ex. “Francesco was all about family, he liked children so I have nothing to complain about”. Joining “Unica’s” post mortem cast are Ilary’s mother, two sisters, friends and cousin – all of who testify to Totti’s kind nature. So what was the problem?
The problem, Ilary explains, is that she and a girlfriend travelled to Milano for a coffee with a “good looking guy” they met through Instagram. She claims that Francesco erroneously believes it was a romantic rendezvous, while in fact as she puts it, “It was all very friendly…we were curious about this guy who had somewhat of a peculiar life”. Ilary lost face with the public over the allegations, and Francesco has since started a new relationship with Noemi Bocchi.
Travelling nearly 600 km while carrying luggage to have a friendly coffee with a good-looking stranger is a challenging position to defend. As Ilary’s own driver tells her, “I think Francesco was right. If he was hurt about something that maybe you did, you were the one to take the first step. I mean with Noemi, it’s like she came later”. Ilary offers no retort for her driver [on camera], but wants us to believe otherwise. She wants the viewer to believe that Noemi didn’t come later – that perhaps her husband was seeing another woman before everything collapsed.
One hopes that Ilary and her family can find peace and happiness going forward. But if you’re looking for facts about Francesco Totti, the only irrefutable sources remain FIFA’s and FIGC’s database of statistics. What transpired between Francesco and Ilary remains conjecture. What we do know for certain is that Francesco Totti’s converted penalty against Australia salvaged a dream and a World Cup in 2006. The rest should be left for the family to resolve.
Massimo Volpe is a filmmaker and freelance writer from Toronto: he writes reviews of Italian films/content on Netflix
