Manhunt in Milan

Typically derivative Italian paranoid thriller about Mafia inter-gang feuding. A mishmash of formulary devices, decorated with the usual high ratio of lethal encounters, is perambulated around the statutory handful of 'thriller' locations: topless bar, hippie commune, boss' suite, prostitute-haunted roadside. The sole point of interest lies in the rise, some half way through, of one Luca Canalli, self-styled small-time pimp and Mafia stooge, to hero status. As played by Mario Adorf, Canalli is a character of literal bone-headedness - useful for smashing telephones, people and car windscreens - and patently soft-centred despite his profession. Adorf's two-dimensional performance gives the character a certain conviction; not enough to turn the film into a viable proposition, though.