The Hand of Dante' ambitious and off the rails

“In the Hand of Dante” brings Julian Schnabel’s ambitious adaptation of Nick Tosches’ 2002 novel to Netflix this week, after debuting at the Venice International Film Festival last year. Schnabel, who previously captivated audiences with “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” co-writes the film with Louise Kugelberg, delivering what the film frames as a story spanning two timelines. The plot centers on a fictionalized version of Tosches recruited by mobsters to steal the original 14th-century “Divine Comedy” pages of Dante Alighieri, aimed at selling the weathered text. Oscar Isaac portrays the writer and also embodies Dante as he struggles to complete his work, with Gal Gadot and Gerard Butler playing parallel figures in each era. The narrative follows Isaac’s character off to Italy on a private jet to authenticate the pages, featuring confrontations with Joe Black (John Malkovich) and Louie (Butler). The film also includes Scorsese as “Isaiah,” and Gadot portrays Dante’s wife Gemma Donati.