Back then I am sure most of the praise Il caso Mattei got was reared on its courageous intent at solving a case that had been officially buried. The narrative is straightforward, going back in time with short vignettes of the aftermath of the 'accident'. It is powerful in a very efficient way, only showcasing the bits of info you need, with some real bits of emotion so you do not get too much time to dislike a chauvinist megalomaniac.
The point is that this storytelling is very artificial, it is kind of a roller-coaster: not very comfortable but you came here for the thrill, not the smooth transitions. Rossi mastered this kind of pseudo-documentarian genre. It worked for a while, about ten years just before conspiracy movies took over with a much more comprehensive approach, much more compelling storytelling skills.
Rossi sticks with his dream of an investigative documentary about Enrico Mattei. If his movie were a real documentary it would be awesome, beyond words. Alas it is all scripted. Gian-Maria Volontè is great but it is a one-man-show, in the end it feels as if we are cheated. Even the kidnapping of Mauro de Mauro sounds like something unreal (because, in Rossi's movie-making fashion, it is a raw fact nonchalantly dropped in here at the right moment in the timeline).
I can't help but think it would have been more interesting to tell the story from the point of view of this journalist. Less original, for sure. Basically this was the part played by Gian-Maria Volontè himself in A ciascuno il suo. But much more honest than aiming to dutifully depict, at full speed, the whole case rather than concentrating on the converging antagonisms in the months leading to the plane crash.
