Parthenope (Celeste Dalla Porta) is a young woman growing up in Naples, Italy, in the 1960s-70s. Men, boys, and even some women are struck by her alluring beauty, desiring her affection at every turn.

It’s easy to dismiss Paolo Sorrentino’s Parthenope, as some critics have, reducing it to a sumptuous perfume ad à la Tom Ford. The same could be said about Celeste Dalla Porta’s eponymous character, ...