Ripe for some pruning, the 94-minute pic will appeal to docu fests and tube channels that can repackage for one-hour consumption.

The main subject of “The Triplet” is one of three brothers from a regular family in Naples. He’s been incarcerated on and off since he was 15, when he first robbed a bank. Latest nonfiction item from verite-loving Neapolitan helmer Vincenzo Marra (“The Session Is Open”) is another clinically observed docu, here following a calm, cleaning-obsessed inmate and the chief warden who tries to get him to open up. Ripe for some pruning, the 94-minute pic will appeal to docu fests and tube channels that can repackage for one-hour consumption.

Twenty-nine-year-old Raffaele Costagliola is quite an imposing presence, impatient and immaculately neat but not especially talkative, which makes this tough-nut-to-crack personality interesting not only for auds, but also for the kind and curious head of the prison guards. First hour is the strongest, as it balances Secondigliano Prison’s daily grind with Raffaele’s personal issues and insights, such as his thoughts on capital punishment. But the closing half-hour focuses too much on an insignificant, heatedly debated cellmate change to keep audiences hooked. Digivid lensing and sound are fine, with the presence of the crew felt only rarely despite the cramped quarters.

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The Triplet

Italy

• Production: A Zaroff Kimerafilm release of an Axelotil, Settembrini Film production. (International sales: Rai Trade, Rome.) Produced by Gianluca Arcopinto, Marco Ledda, Vincenzo Marra, Angelo Russo Russelli. Directed, written by Vincenzo Marra.
• Crew: Camera (color, HD), Francesca Amitrano; editor, Luca Benedetti; sound, Daniele Maraniello. Reviewed at Venice Film Festival (Venice Days), Aug. 30, 2012. Running time: 94 MIN.
• With: With: Raffaele Costagliola, Domenico Manzi. (Neapolitan, Italian dialogue)

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