Netflix quietly drops new film you’ve never heard of with star-studded cast

A long-gestating and ambitious project, In the Hand of Dante is a chaotic blend of genres and tone (Picture: Dreamcrew Entertainment) In the Hand of Dante has quietly been added on Netflix , not that you’d likely realise after the movie was rinsed by critics at its Venice Film Festival premiere last year. Despite its star-studded cast led by Oscar Isaac , the film has yet to trouble the streaming platform’s top 10 either (in the UK, at least), which is normally all but guaranteed for a freshly-added title. But this latest film from acclaimed director Julian Schnabel sadly proves that 15 years in development doesn’t a movie masterpiece make. And like Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis in 2024, there’s a distinct impression of a veteran filmmaker left to run riot and turn in an overly indulgent and, at times, incomprehensible film that claims to address major themes but will most likely leave audiences baffled. However, again, like Coppola’s picture, there is a certain level of respect that has been earned by Schnabel for the bold decisions he’s made here, even if they largely don’t work. Get personalised updates on all things Netflix Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro’s TV Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we’ll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you. He too has assembled a starry and slightly random cast for In the Hand of Dante, with Isaac joined by Gal Gadot , Gerard Butler , Jason Momoa , Al Pacino , John Malkovich , Franco Nero and – um – Martin Scorsese popping up. Oscar Isaac (pictured with co-star Martin Scorsese) takes the dual lead role of Dante Alighieri and journalist Nick Tosches (Picture: Alex Majoli/ITHOD Productions Ltd.) Gal Gadot appears in another dual role as his destined love, but struggles with underwriting (Picture: Alex Majoli/ITHOD Productions Ltd.) The ambitious story sees Isaac play Italian literary giant Dante Alighieri, charting the journey of a handwritten manuscript of his 14th-century masterpiece poem The Divine Comedy from the Vatican library to a New York mob boss and to journalist Nick Tosches (also Isaac) in 2001, to verify its authenticity. Tosches wrote the novel the movie’s based on, which contains this fictionalised version of himself, but Schnabel went a step further and decided to make Tosches the reincarnation of Dante, alongside Gadot as both Dante’s wife Gemma and Nick’s temporary assistant. POLL Poll Have you seem In the Hand of Dante on Netflix? What did you think? It was trippy, I loved it Check It was a load of tosh Check It was okay, I've seen worse Check I still need to watch it Check It’s already quite a lot to contend with, without the onslaught of Dante quotations pelted at the audience throughout the film’s 153-minute run time, of which I felt many of those minutes. However, there are some bright spots, including an extended cameo for Pacino as Nick’s uncle during his childh