Film Review – In the Hand of Dante

June 24th, 2026 | POSTED BY Allen Almachar

In the Hand of Dante (2025) is a baffling mess of a movie. It’s made with confidence and has the look and feel of a prestige picture, which only goes to amplify its pretention. Based on the novel by Nick Tosches, the narrative dramatizes a scenario in which Tosches (Yes, the author of the book is also one of the main characters) happens upon the original handwritten manuscript of Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy. Not only is Dante’s poem a foundational part of Italian literature, it is a foundational part of world literature. The original document has been lost to time. If it were to be discovered, that would be kind of a big deal. Unfortunately, the film’s “What If” depiction of this leaves a lot to be desired.

Directed by Julian Schnabel (who also cowrites with Louise Kugelberg), the story is split into two parallel points of view. The first features the fictional Tosches (Oscar Isaac) around the turn of the 21^stcentury. Nick is a writer who has a keen understanding of Dante and his work. This knowledge is both a blessing and a curse, as a shady underworld boss named Joe Black (John Malkovich) informs Nick that an Italian priest has discovered the original version of The Divine Comedy. Along with Joe’s henchman, Louie (Gerard Butler), Nick gets sent to Italy to retrieve the document, confirm its authenticity, and bring it back to America undetected. This proves to be a difficult assignment (obviously). Amongst the obstacles standing in his way, Nick also ends up falling head over heels with Gemma (Gal Gadot), an Italian woman who was supposed to be Nick’s overseas assistant but ends up being much more than that.

The second arc brings us all the way back to the 14^TH century, where we see Alighieri (Isaac) struggling to finish his masterwork. Dante is in the middle of an existential crisis, unable to find a spark of inspiration in his art, his faith, or in those closest to him. He meets with Pope Bonifacio VIII (Butler), confides with his wife Giulietta (Gadot), and visits his personal mentor (Martin Scorsese) but finds little solace. Along with a rapidly changing social and political landscape, Dante becomes deeply troubled intellectually and emotionally. He goes on long inner monologues about love and divinity, the afterlife, and the presence of a higher power. Often, he is seen on edge – sometimes convulsing in the middle of the night or bathing himself in a fountain in hopes of feeling anything. It makes sense that Dante – as Nick would do centuries later – named his protagonist after himself.  

The contrast between Nick and Dante’s worlds is so stark that they could be different movies altogether. The plot involving Nick retrieving the manuscripts, having it authenticated, stealing it, and then avoiding danger plays like a heist or crime thriller. Whereas with Dante, his spiritual journey unfolds more along the lines of an arthouse drama. The dialogue also acts as a division marker, with modern characters speaking with natural, everyday speech that we would interact with today. With Dante and his contemporaries, their dialogue has a more poetic style – incorporating words like “Thee” or “Thou.” The biggest difference between the two stories is in the cinematography. In a kind of reverse approach, Roman Vasyanov’s camerawork shoots Nick’s world in black and white, while Dante’s is in color. This is the opposite of traditional filmmaking, where flashback or historical scenes are routinely in B&W and present day scenes in color. Although the film is packed with lush eye candy, it all remains on the surface. It’s when we try to dig for something deeper or more meaningful that things start to fall apart.

In the Hand of Dante is a cluster of contradictory elements that don’t gel well together. It switches from a thriller to a drama, from comedy to brutal violence, from romance to over-the-top camp. The narrative wants to incorporate these different flavors but isn’t exceptional at any of them. It is certainly an ambitious project, and with a director of Schnabel’s caliber (who helmed the masterpiece The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)) that should be expected. But his latest is too flimsy, too loosely composed to make an impact. I came away with no additional insights about these characters, about Dante or The Divine Comedy, or whatever themes were trying to be conveyed. It was all a collection of various episodes held by the thinnest of strings. Some moments were compelling, several were not, and for most of the runtime I felt disconnected with what was on screen. I don’t mind movies that take big swings or dare to do something different, but in this instance the lofty aspirations were not met.

The biggest oddity comes with the casting. Oscar Isaac is more than capable of giving a good, even great performance. He juggles the dual roles of Nick and Dante about as well as anyone could. However, there were other parts that were filled with actors that left me scratching my head. Gerard Butler as a New York/Italian hitman and the pope? Gal Gadot as Nick and Dante’s love interests? Jason Momoa as a ruthless enforcer for the mob? Don’t get me wrong, each of these actors have endless charisma and have delivered memorable work in other projects. But for a story that is so distinctly Italian and so important to its history and culture, having the central roles played by actors who are distinctly not Italian was a bizarre choice.

In the Hand of Dante is an example of a movie that is in constant conflict with itself. Its shifting moods and genres – combined with a lack of intrigue in its story and characters – leaves the overall result a chore to get through. I was interested in seeing where it would go at first, but by the time it arrived at its endpoint I was checked out. Sometimes, a movie can get by simply through its drive, atmosphere, and vibes. Other times, those pieces are not enough to cover its weaknesses. I’ll let you decide which category this one belongs.

Gal Gadot, Gerard Butler, In the Hand of Dante, Jason Momoa, John Malkovich, Julian Schnabel, Louise Kugelberg, Martin Scorsese, Nick Tosches, Oscar Isaac, Roman Vasyanov, The Divine Comedy, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly