What Is Suburra About?
The premise of Suburra in 271 words, with nothing given away. The full story follows below.
In the shadows of Rome’s historic streets, a bold vision stirs along the city’s waterfront. A sprawling entertainment complex, reminiscent of the glittering lights of Las Vegas, promises to reshape Ostia into a playground of luxury and ambition. The project’s sheer scale casts a long silhouette over the ancient capital, hinting at a future where neon glare and marble façades coexist, while the air is charged with political maneuvering and underworld whispers.
At the heart of this daring scheme is Samurai, a ruthless gangster whose reputation precedes him. Equal parts strategist and enforcer, he sees the waterfront not merely as real estate but as a legacy—an empire that could redefine power in the capital. To bring this dream to life, Samurai reaches across the city’s fractured criminal landscape, rallying a disparate coalition of mob bosses whose territories and temperaments clash as dramatically as the tides.
The uneasy truce forged among these seasoned crime lords teeters on a razor’s edge. Each faction eyes the burgeoning project through its own lens of profit and prestige, and the fragile peace they maintain is constantly tested by competing ambitions. The atmosphere crackles with a blend of sophisticated intrigue and gritty realism, as polished boardrooms sit side by side with clandestine back‑alley exchanges. The tone is a brooding, neon‑lit tableau where loyalty is a currency and betrayal an ever‑present specter.
As the plan advances, the stakes rise in tandem with the city’s anticipation. The promise of a dazzling new horizon is matched by the looming threat that any misstep could plunge Rome into chaos, turning a grand architectural fantasy into a battleground of power and survival.
What Happens in Suburra?
The complete story of Suburra, from the first scene to the last, in 773 words (about 3 minutes). Spoilers throughout. Names in the text link to 5 cast member pages.
Spoilers ahead
In November 2011, Filippo Malgradi emerges as a calculating Italian MP pressing a controversial bill that would reclassify key administrative zones to clear the way for a massive real estate project in Ostia, pitched as a bold, Las Vegas–style city. This audacious plan is shadowed by his close and dangerous liaison with a powerful figure known as Samurai, a former neo-fascist turned seasoned criminal who operates under the cover of a seemingly ordinary pump station owner. The arrangement is not just political maneuvering; it bleeds into the financial backbone of the project, with Samurai maintaining privileged ties to the Vatican Bank to finance the venture for profit.
In a tense hotel room, Malgradi’s private life collides with public scandal as he takes part in an exploitative encounter with two prostitutes, Sabrina Giulia Elettra Gorietti and the underage Yelena. When Yelena dies from cocaine intoxication, Malgradi abruptly departs and leaves Sabrina to handle the aftermath. Sabrina, caught between fear and obligation, calls in a favor from Spadino Anacleti, a young member of a Romani crime family, who retrieves the body and disposes of it by dropping it into a reservoir. This grim act marks the first tremor in a landscape where crime and politics increasingly blur into a single, dangerous network.
At the same time, a separate world operates within a sprawling family estate. Sebastiano—a pimp who hosts secret parties for members of Italian high society at his ancestral mansion—finds his power crumbling after his father’s suicide, driven by debt owed to the Anacleti clan, who have built their fortune through loan sharking and coercive debt collection. The aging patriarch of the family, Manfredi Anacleti, drags Sebastiano into a coercive bargain, forcing him to cede property to cover the family’s debts.
The web further tightens as Spadino uses Malgradi as leverage, pressuring him to purchase drugs and prostitutes exclusively from the Anacleti network. Malgradi seeks help from a contact connected to a local power broker who in turn has ties to a violent enforcer known as 8-Ball, a thug who controls the Ostia area. The tension escalates when 8-Ball’s involvement becomes personal, culminating in Spadino’s murder by 8-Ball and setting Manfredi on a furious path of revenge. The fallout reverberates through the city and the mansion alike, pulling a chorus of players into a deadly crescendo.
Seeking shelter from the aftermath, Sabrina hides with Sebastiano, and in a moment of dangerous honesty reveals to him the identity of Spadino’s killer. In exchange for clemency, Sebastiano passes this information to Manfredi, fueling a cycle of backroom negotiations and betrayals. Anacleti’s henchmen launch a failed ambush against 8-Ball, while 8-Ball’s drug-addicted lover, Viola, enlists another of 8-Ball’s men to silence the Anacleti hit squad. Samurai, aiming to prevent an all-out war that could jeopardize the Ostia project, steps in as a mediator, attempting to broker a fragile peace.
The pressure inside the mansion intensifies when Manfredi forces Sebastiano to hand Sabrina over, and Sabrina confirms to Manfredi that Malgradi set the whole sequence of events in motion. In exchange for a promise—one that would return the mansion to Sebastian—Sebastiano convinces Manfredi to leverage the deal in his favor. Desperation pushes Malgradi to the brink; he confronts a stark choice: stand by the deal or risk exposure. Samurai tries to sway 8-Ball to include the Anacleti faction in the arrangement and to hand over Viola, but when 8-Ball refuses, Samurai makes a drastic move to pacify Manfredi by eliminating 8-Ball and his henchmen. In the chaos, Viola manages to flee as the violence erupts around them.
As the bill is approved, a chilling wind passes through the corridors of power and crime alike. Yelena’s body has been found, and Malgradi faces the looming threat of judiciary scrutiny that could threaten his parliamentary immunity. The tension crescendos as Sebastiano, enraged by the shifting power, assaults Manfredi upon his return home and traps him within the grip of a ferocious pit bull—an animal that mauls him to death. With the bill finally moving forward, the Prime Minister resigns, threatening the stability of Malgradi’s immunity, and signalling that the political machinery is now entangled with the criminal forces that have driven every turn of the plot.
In a final act of vengeance and defiance, Viola executes Samurai as he leaves his mother’s apartment, bringing a brutal, personal endpoint to a saga where ambition, loyalty, and bloodlines intertwine in a city perched between wealth, power, and violence. The story leaves readers with a stark image of a system where real estate dreams are financed by shadowed deals, and where every victory comes with a cost paid in fear, betrayal, and blood.
Suburra Timeline: Every Key Event in Order
14 key events in the order they happen, from “Malgradi pushes a controversial bill to reshape Ostia's future” to “Final act: Viola ends Samurai”. 14 events name a place, across 12 locations.
- 1
Malgradi pushes a controversial bill to reshape Ostia's future
Filippo Malgradi, a Italian MP, advances a bill to change the classification of several administrative areas in hopes of kickstarting a Las Vegas–like real estate project in Ostia. He relies on his privileged ties with the crime boss Samurai, who also has deep interests in the venture. The arrangement hints at a corrupt nexus between politics, crime, and finance, supported by the Vatican Bank's potential funding.
When:November 2011 Where:Parliament, Rome
- 2
Hotel room scandal and a body in the aftermath
In a hotel room, Malgradi engages with Sabrina and the underage Yelena; Yelena dies from cocaine intoxication. Malgradi leaves and asks Sabrina to dispose of the body, triggering a chain of favors. Sabrina calls Alberto 'Spadino' Anacleti, who retrieves the corpse and dumps it into a reservoir.
When:November 2011 Where:Hotel room
- 3
Sebastiano's mansion: secrets, debts and threats
Sebastiano hosts secret parties for Italy's high society at his family mansion. After his father commits suicide due to debts with the Anacleti family, Manfredi summons Sebastiano and threatens him to relinquish all property to pay the debts.
When:November 2011 Where:Sebastiano's family mansion
- 4
Spadino's leverage and Malgradi's precarious position
Spadino blackmails Malgradi into purchasing drugs and prostitutes solely from him and the Anacleti. Malgradi seeks help from 8-Ball Adami, who controls influence in the Ostia area, to tilt the balance in the deal.
When:November 2011 Where:City around Ostia
- 5
The killing sparks a power shift
The confrontation between 8-Ball and Spadino escalates until 8-Ball kills Spadino, leaving Manfredi enraged and hungry for revenge. The murder shifts the power dynamics within the crime families and their political backers.
When:November 2011 Where:Around the Ostia real estate site
- 6
Sabrina seeks shelter; a dangerous revelation follows
Fearing for her life, Sabrina hides at Sebastiano's house. She reveals to him the name of Spadino's killer, and Sebastiano passes this information to Manfredi in exchange for clemency, escalating the vendetta between the families.
When:November 2011 Where:Sebastiano's residence
- 7
Anacleti's men ambush 8-Ball; a vendetta unfolds
Anacleti's henchmen ambush 8-Ball but fail to kill him. Meanwhile, Viola, 8-Ball's drug-addicted lover, launches a personal vendetta and enlists one of 8-Ball's men to assassinate Anacleti's hitmen, broadening the conflict.
When:November 2011 Where:City streets
- 8
Samurai tries to broker peace
Seeing a full-scale war threaten his real estate interests, Samurai mediates between 8-Ball and Manfredi, attempting to deescalate the feud and preserve the deal that benefits him.
When:November 2011 Where:Mediation venue
- 9
Sabrina's betrayal fuels the siege
Manfredi forces Sebastiano to hand Sabrina over; she reveals to him that Malgradi was the trigger for the cascade of events leading to Spadino's murder, tying Malgradi directly to the killings.
When:November 2011 Where:Sebastiano's residence
- 10
Guarantor exposed; a hostage exchange
Sebastiano tells Manfredi that Malgradi is the guarantor of the real estate project. Manfredi breaks into Malgradi's apartment, takes Malgradi's son hostage, and demands a stake in the profits, escalating the coercive pressure.
When:November 2011 Where:Malgradi's apartment
Show the other 4 events of Suburra Hide the last 4 events
- 11
The hitmen fall; a killer's escape
Samurai orders 8-Ball's elimination; he executes 8-Ball and his henchmen to pacify Manfredi. During the gunfire, Viola hides and manages to escape, avoiding the immediate danger.
When:November 2011 Where:City streets
- 12
Bill passes, powers shift, and a chilling discovery
The real estate bill is approved, but Yelena's body has been found and Malgradi is warned a judiciary probe may follow. The Prime Minister resigns, jeopardizing Malgradi's parliamentary immunity and throwing the whole affair into a new political crisis.
When:November 2011 Where:National Parliament / Government offices
- 13
Sebastiano's brutal retribution
Sebastiano brutalizes Manfredi in the night, beating him and locking him in the cage of Manfredi's own ferocious pit bull, which mauls him to death amidst the chaos.
When:November 2011 Where:Manfredi's residence
- 14
Final act: Viola ends Samurai
In the final act, Viola shoots Samurai as he leaves his mother's apartment, bringing a bitter closure to the power struggle and the escalating vendettas surrounding the Ostia project.
When:November 2011 Where:Samurai's mother's apartment
Who Are the Main Characters in Suburra?
9 characters, among them Filippo Malgradi (Pierfrancesco Favino), Spadino Anacleti (Giacomo Ferrara) and Manfredi Anacleti (Adamo Dionisi): who each one is and the part they play in the story. Every profile links to the actor’s page.
-
Filippo Malgradi (Pierfrancesco Favino)
Played by Pierfrancesco Favino
An ambitious Italian MP who pushes a bill to reclassify territories to enable the Ostia project. He engages in sex with prostitutes and uses favors to stay ahead, drawing him into dangerous alliances with criminal figures. His actions set off a chain of betrayals that illuminate how politics and crime feed each other.
- 🏛️ Power
- 💰 Corruption
-
Spadino Anacleti (Giacomo Ferrara)
Played by Giacomo Ferrara
A young member of the Romani crime family who enforces the Anacleti's grip on the Ostia area. He uses blackmail and violence to secure deals for his brother Manfredi and his allies, tightening the coil around Malgradi. His ruthlessness ultimately leads to his murder by 8-Ball.
- 🧿 Crime
- 🗝️ Loyalty
- MA
Manfredi Anacleti (Adamo Dionisi)
Played by Adamo Dionisi
Patriarch of the Anacleti clan and a ruthless loan shark who wields debt and fear to control property and people. He drives the conflict with Malgradi and Sebastiano, reacting with violence when his interests are challenged. His strategies reveal how familial loyalty can become a weapon in large-scale schemes.
- ⚔️ Authority
- 🗡️ Violence
-
Numero 8 (Aureliano '8-Ball' Adami) (Alessandro Borghi)
Played by Alessandro Borghi
A powerful local enforcer who controls the Ostia area and brokers drug and prostitution networks. He resists za alliances that threaten his profits and manipulates others to keep the real estate deal moving. His murder of Spadino triggers a brutal escalation of violence, and his own downfall comes at the hands of Samurai.
- 💊 Drugs
- 🗝️ Control
- S(
Sabrina (Giulia Elettra Gorietti)
Played by Giulia Elettra Gorietti
A prostitute connected to Malgradi who becomes entangled in the secrets of the deal. She hides a murder and is forced to reveal crucial information, illustrating how individuals are drawn into the web of power through coercion and leverage. Her actions catalyze key plot revelations.
- 💄 Prostitution
- 🧭 Betrayal
- V(
Viola (Greta Scarano)
Played by Greta Scarano
8-Ball's drug-addicted lover who seeks vengeance and becomes instrumental in the plot’s violent cycles. She orchestrates or participates in actions that destabilize the competing factions. Her arc culminates in a dramatic blow to Samurai, underscoring the personal costs of the power struggle.
- 🔥 Violence
- 💔 Betrayal
- S(
Samurai (Claudio Amendola)
Played by Claudio Amendola
A former neo-fascist turned professional criminal with deep ties to powerful financial institutions, including the Vatican Bank. He serves as an arbitrator between rival factions and uses leverage to maintain balance. His influence and willingness to eliminate threats keep the power dynamics volatile.
- ⚔️ Violence
- 🏛️ Influence
-
Sebastiano (Elio Germano)
Played by Elio Germano
A pimp who hosts secret parties for Italy's elite at his family mansion, Camouflaging the moral rot behind a glamorous facade. He becomes a pawn in the larger real estate scheme, pressured by Manfredi and Malgradi to relinquish property under duress. His arc tracks the intersection of wealth, sex, and power.
- 🎭 Secrecy
- 🏰 Wealth
- PD
Padre di Sebastiano (Antonello Fassari)
Played by Antonello Fassari
The father of Sebastiano, whose death looms as a consequence of the Anacleti debt-trap. Though not a central figure, his fate underscores the collateral damage of the criminal economy surrounding the Ostia project. His presence underscores the film’s theme of family and duty under pressure.
- 🙏 Faith
- 👨👦 Family
Where and When Is Suburra Set?
Suburra is set in Ostia and Rome (November 2011). Here is why the time and place matter to the story.
When
November 2011
The events occur in the immediate aftermath of Italy's financial crisis, within a tense political atmosphere. A controversial bill and shifting alliances drive the narrative through a single volatile month. The period is marked by public scandals, investigations, and the entanglement of crime with high-level decision-making.
Where
Ostia, Rome
The story unfolds mainly in Ostia and the surrounding Rome area, a coastline locale where development schemes collide with crime. The setting blends luxury, secrecy, and backroom deals that fuel the plot. It highlights how a real estate push can become a battleground for power, money, and influence.
- 🏙️ Urban crime
- 🗺️ Italian politics
What Are the Themes of Suburra?
3 ideas the story keeps returning to, among them Power and Politics, Criminal Networks and Violence and Betrayal.
-
01
Power and Politics
A political bill becomes a tool for leverage as criminals, politicians, and financiers converge around Ostia. The story shows how power is negotiated through favors, blackmail, and side deals that benefit the wealthiest players. The centralized political machinery is depicted as both essential to progress and susceptible to corruption.
-
02
Criminal Networks
The Anacleti family, Samurai, and their entourages reveal a web of loyalties that cross borders between debt collection, drug trafficking, and real estate speculation. Alliances shift as threats and violence are used to settle scores and secure profits. The network's reach extends into legitimate institutions, complicating justice.
-
03
Violence and Betrayal
Murder, coercion, and betrayals escalate as the real estate deal spirals out of control. Spadino is murdered, 8-Ball retaliates with more killings, and Samurai eliminates rivals to maintain balance. Personal betrayals collide with public ambition, culminating in sudden, brutal acts that redefine loyalties.
What Kind of Film Is Suburra?
Dark in tone, with fast pacing and a complex story, going by the plot summary.
- Tone
- Dark
- Pacing
- Fast
- Story
- Complex
- Intensity
- High
- Ending
- Bleak
A high-intensity, dark crime thriller that plunges viewers into a tense and corrupt world of relentless power struggles, brutal betrayals, and a bleak descent into moral decay.
- gritty
- tense
- cynical
- oppressive
- brutal
- anxious
- political corruption
- organized crime
- revenge
- ambition
Content notes: drug use, death of a minor, violence, exploitation.
Quiz
How well do you remember Suburra? Test yourself on the story.
