Margins

Michele misses the job interview because he is fully consumed by organizing the concert for The Defense. In a moment of desperation to secure the band's travel to Italy, he secretly uses money that Margherita had saved. He rationalizes this as a necessary risk to give their music a real chance at breaking through, but it creates a strain of secrecy and guilt in his marriage.

Earlier, Michele is shown sharing his music with his daughter Alice, hoping it might open a door out of his routine life, hinting at his willingness to take risks for his musical dreams.

After their deal with Adriano Melis falls through following a heated quarrel, the trio finds themselves with no venue, no equipment, and mounting expenses. With money running out and the concert date approaching, they make a desperate decision to break into Sala Eden at night and steal the equipment they need. However, the plan goes wrong and they vandalize the venue in the process, leading to police involvement.

The earlier tension with Adriano Melis during venue negotiations establishes the strained relationship that leads to this desperate act.

Iacopo decides to leave Grosseto to pursue a full orchestral career. Earlier, he receives a call from Daniel Barenboim about joining his French tour, which coincides with the concert date. He struggles with how to tell Michele, given their shared dream of the punk band. After the police incident and the concert, Iacopo reveals his intention to pursue the classical opportunity, and the three friends argue, causing them to drift apart.

Iacopo's background as a cellist studying classical music while joining a punk band hints at his dual identity and eventual path toward the classical world.

After the police involvement following their failed equipment theft, Edoardo's mother kicks him out of the house. However, she still provides him with the equipment needed to put on the concert, showing that despite her anger at his choices, she supports his dream of performing. This forces Edoardo to confront the consequences of his actions while still having the means to go forward with the show.

Edoardo's complicated relationship with his mother's partner Adriano Melis, who runs Sala Eden, sets up the conflict that leads to the theft attempt.

The Municipality of Grosseto shows little enthusiasm for helping the band because their resources are already allocated to a historical reenactment of Louis IV the Bavarian's siege. The city prioritizes this cultural event over a punk concert, leaving the band to fend for themselves and eventually settle for a dilapidated community hall that the municipality offers.

The contrast between the municipal priority on historical reenactment and the punk band's struggle establishes the cultural tension in Grosseto.

The concert ends up at a community hall because negotiations with Adriano Melis at Sala Eden completely collapse. After a heated quarrel involving the trio and the entrepreneur, the deal falls through. With no suitable alternative venue available, they accept the dilapidated community hall provided by the Municipality, hoping they can transform it into a decent concert space.

Earlier attempts to secure Sala Eden through Edoardo's mother's connection hint at the eventual breakdown of that relationship.

The friendship fractures due to mounting tensions from financial strain, secrets, and conflicting priorities. Michele's secret use of money and the resulting stress create tension. Iacopo's hidden knowledge of the Barenboim opportunity and his decision to leave Grosseto after the concert, combined with the stress of the police incident, leads to a heated argument. The three friends drift apart, with Iacopo pursuing his classical career while Michele and Edoardo face the aftermath of the concert.

The early scenes showing their different backgrounds and aspirations, Michele's family life, Iacopo's classical dreams, Edoardo's work at the disco, foreshadow their eventual divergence.

After their scheduled date in Bologna is unexpectedly canceled, the three friends reach out to The Defense with a bold proposal, they invite the American punk band to come to Grosseto instead. The Defense accepts this proposal, giving them the opportunity to organize what becomes a major local event despite all the challenges they face.

Their earlier excitement about opening for The Defense in Bologna shows how much this opportunity means to them, making their persistence in bringing the band to Grosseto understandable.

After the successful concert with The Defense draws a large crowd, Michele and Edoardo find themselves at the police station the next day. The front page of Il Tirreno newspaper reports on the event with the headline "Punk concert shocks the city. Two Grosseto residents reported." Despite achieving their musical goal, they face legal consequences from the earlier vandalism incident at Sala Eden.

The nighttime break-in at Sala Eden, which resulted in vandalism and police attention, explains why they must face the authorities even after the concert succeeds.

At the end of the movie, Michele and Edoardo call Iacopo but his voicemail answers in French, indicating he has already left Grosseto to pursue his orchestral career with Daniel Barenboim's tour. The French voicemail signals that Iacopo has moved on to the classical world, leaving his two friends behind as they celebrate their bittersweet victory.

Iacopo's earlier call from Barenboim about the French tour, which he struggled to tell Michele about, foreshadows his departure.

For these three friends in conservative Grosseto, the punk lifestyle represents escape from the monotony and marginality of provincial life. Michele sees music as a door to a different life for his family. Iacopo uses punk to bridge his classical training with raw energy. Edoardo rebels against his circumstances at Sala Eden. Their dream of bringing an American punk band to their hometown becomes a symbol of breaking free from a city that feels "two hours from everything."