Full Breakdown
In the Hand of Dante: Netflix’s Ambitious Dual-Era Crime Drama
6/25/2026, 9:30:11 PM
Plot Overview and Release
Julian Schnabel’s film *In the Hand of Dante* premiered at the Venice Film Festival before becoming available on Netflix. The narrative follows two intertwined storylines: a modern-day writer, Nick Tosches (Oscar Isaac), is recruited by mafia boss Joe Black (John Malkovich) to locate and authenticate a purportedly original handwritten copy of Dante Alighieri’s *Divine Comedy* hidden in the Vatican library; concurrently, the 14th-century poet Dante (also played by Isaac) is depicted seeking inspiration for his epic work. The film alternates between black-and-white sequences set in the early 2000s and color-rich scenes portraying medieval Italy.
Production Background
The screenplay, co-written by Schnabel and Louise Kugelberg, adapts Nick Tosches’s 2002 novel of the same title. Netflix provided the financing and distribution platform, granting Schnabel “the money and latitude to make this” (source 1). The picture runs 150 minutes, carries an R rating for graphic violence, sexual content, and profanity, and was shot by cinematographer Roman Vasyanov.
Cast and Dual Roles
The ensemble includes Oscar Isaac, Gal Gadot, Gerard Butler, Al Pacino, Jason Momoa, John Malkovich, and Martin Scorsese. Many actors assume parallel characters across the two eras: Gadot portrays both Tosches’s assistant Giuletta and Dante’s wife Gemma; Butler appears as mob enforcer Lou and Pope Boniface VIII; Malkovich plays mafia don Joe Black and an Italian noble; Scorsese appears as Dante’s elderly teacher. This casting strategy is intended to echo thematic links between love, violence, and artistic creation.
Data & Statistics
- Runtime: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Rating: R (graphic violence, sexual situations, profanity)
- Rotten Tomatoes score: 34 % based on 29 reviews (source 11)
Official Statements & Responses
Netflix’s involvement is framed as an effort to support “a bold and artistic film” with a “large cast and unusual mix of historical drama and crime thriller elements” (source 11). Schnabel’s production notes describe the film as “based on a novel by Nick Tosches” and emphasize the dual-timeline structure as a means to explore “art, love, obsession, and the search for meaning” (source 11).
Criticism & Opposition
Critical consensus characterizes the film as overlong and structurally unwieldy. The New York Times’ Jeannette Catsoulis praised the visual style but labeled the work “overlong and disastrously ill-judged.” RogerEbert.com’s Brian Tallerico noted that “only the filmmaker fully understands what in Dante’s fiery Hell all of this is supposed to mean.” Deep Focus Review’s Brian Eggert found the commentary on art and commerce “interesting but … lackluster love story.” Additional reviewers cited the film’s “unusual tone, long runtime, and complicated narrative” as major drawbacks (source 11).
Verbatim Quotes
- “My books can’t be edited any more than a leopard can be given a manicure!” — Nick Tosches (fictional), *In the Hand of Dante*
- “ The movie ends up bogged down by the kind of florid, repetitive conversations that are emblematic of a film student making their first mob picture.” — Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com
- “It feels like studying poetry purely by reading someone’s academic notes rather than experiencing the verses themselves.” — IGN review
- “only the filmmaker fully understands what in Dante’s fiery Hell all of this is supposed to mean.” — Jeannette Catsoulis, The New York Times
- “He wrote that the movie’s commentary was not enough to overcome its “lackluster love story.” — Brian Eggert, Deep Focus Review
What’s Next
*In the Hand of Dante* remains accessible on Netflix, where audience reception will continue to shape its legacy as a high-profile, yet polarizing, attempt to merge literary history with contemporary crime drama.
