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The camera movement and the frame composition in the above sequence have a twofold
effect: they allow time for viewers to realize the absurdity of Francolicchio's death and they
imply social indifference towards the marginalized. This indifference is also portrayed in the
scene of the murderer's eventual arrest which takes place during a social dancing event, with
the new middle class eager to resume the party as soon as the 'disruption' is over. Also
significant in this respect is the closing sequence of the film, in which the murderer shouts in
self-justification: 'She was only a whore'. With these devices, Bertolucci indirectly indicates
that by the early 1960s and the advent of materialism, times had dramatically changed in
Italy, but his approach is not one of overt political didacticism or of strong emotional
manipulation of the viewer despite the screenplay's potential for this.
Conclusion
The film's denouement confirms the pessimism of a narrative that envisages little change in
the socio-economic position of those sections of society left behind by the political and
economic order of post-war Italy. The perception of this lack of future prospects enhances the
film's wistful, lyrical moments, and gives rise to the compassion that is occasionally elicited
from viewers by the vicissitudes of certain characters. These factors, in tandem with technical
elements such as the film's music, mise-en-scene, and other subtle 'emotion markers' (Smith
G., 1999: 117-118) create a pervading mood of melancholy, without, however, there being
any sustained bursts of emotion. The embryonic, self-conscious experimentations with film
style that emerge in The Grim Reaper gained momentum in Bertolucci"s later projects,
notably noir aesthetics in Tlie Conformist, detective movie conventions in Tlie Spider's
Stratagem, and Nouvelle Vague visuals in Before the Revolution, Partner, and Last Tango in
Paris. His sophisticated film technique came to characterize many of his films, generating a
viewing experience which, while not entirely lacking devices to elicit emotional forms of
engagement between viewers and characters and to engender a sense of aesthetic
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