Julian Schnabel‘s long-gestating offbeat period drama In the Hand of Dante has finally met an audience. The Oscar Isaac-starring film received an enthusiastic welcome at its world premiere in Venice Wednesday night, drawing an eight-minute standing ovation. Having traded his signature smocks and fedora for a black tuxedo and shiny Oxfords, Schnabel bowed gallantly to the crowd and embraced Isaac and his cast throughout the ovation. Supporting star Jason Momoa walked the red carpet in a striking pink suit prior to the screening but snuck out with his entourage before the film played. Momoa and Isaac last walked the Venice carpet together for the world premiere of Dune: Part I in 2021.
In the Hand of Dante is adapted from Nick Tosches’ 2002 novel of the same name, with Schnabel and his wife Louise Kugelberg collaborating on the screenplay. Isaac stars as both the middle ages poet Dante Alighieri and modern-day author Nick Tosches, the latter of which is drawn into a dangerous quest when a handwritten manuscript of The Divine Comedy resurfaces via the Vatican and lands in the hands of a New York mob boss. As Nick attempts to authenticate the manuscript, he becomes entangled in a treacherous underworld — aided or contested by Jason Momoa, Gerard Butler, Gal Gadot and others. Martin Scorsese appears in a substantial role as Dante’s mentor, a “brilliant” character in Schnabel’s words, while Al Pacino and John Malkovich round out the star-studded supporting cast.
Jason Momoa and Oscar Isaac embrace on the Venice red carpet at the ‘In the Hand of Dante’ premiere.
The film took a long journey to the screen. Johnny Depp’s production company Infinitum Nihil acquired rights to Tosches’ book as far back as 2008, with Depp originally intending to star. Schnabel, known for his art history biopics Basquiat and At Eternity’s Gate, boarded the project in 2011, but it wasn’t until 2023 that Isaac joined the film, replacing Depp, and the movie moved into production.
Isaac told a Venice press conference earlier on Wednesday that he was drawn to the role by “the impossibility” of such a film. “To read it and have no idea how one would realize it, that’s what’s so exciting about it,” stated the actor, who has already had a high-profile Venice festival after the world premiere of Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, in which he co-stars.
“[Julian’s] a visionary and he’s unlike any other artist that’s working today or has ever worked,” he added.
Julian Schnabel and Oscar Isaac at the ‘In The Hand Of Dante’ photocall earlier in the day at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival (Photo by Aldara Zarraoa/Getty Images)
In a mixed review, The Hollywood Reporter‘s critic summed up the film as an “ambitious, captivating and sometimes misfiring extravaganza” and a “crazy ride that doesn’t quite get there.”
Produced by DreamCrew Entertainment, MeMo Films, TWIN Productions and Artofficial Productions, In the Hand of Dante is being sold internationally by WME Independent.
Though he’s a New York-born and Texas-bred artist, Schnabel is very much a local hero in Venice. He’s exhibited at the Venice Biennale Art Exhibition five times (1980, 1982, 1993, 1997 and 2003) and premiered his directorial debut Basquiat here in 1996. His follow-up, Before Night Falls, starring Javier Bardem as Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas, won Venice’s grand jury prize, while his most recent film, At Eternity’s Gate, saw Willem Dafoe go home with the festival’s best actor prize.
Schnabel’s busy day in Venice was capped by his acceptance of a Cartier Glory to the Filmmaker Award inside the water city’s Sala Grande cinema just before the screening. The annual prize recognizes a film world personality who has made “an especially original contribution to contemporary cinema.” Past recipients of the honor have included Ridley Scott, Wes Anderson and Claude Lelouch.
The 2025 Venice film festival runs Aug. 27-Sept. 6.
