The Tearsmith Movie Review: The Film Based On The Literary Phenomenon For Teenagers Arrives On Netflix
Cast: Caterina Ferioli, Simone Baldasseroni, Nicky Passarella, Alessandro Bedetti
Director: Alessandro Genovesi
Streaming Platform: Netflix
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 2.5/5 (two and a half stars)
Released in 2021 by Salani, The Tearsmith is a novel for teenagers written by Erin Doom, the pseudonym of an Italian writer known only by her name: Matilde. Openly aimed at teenagers, the novel was released in 2020 as a self-publishing by the author but, given the great success, Magazzini Salani proposed and obtained the purchase of the rights. It seems to have sold 450,000 copies, becoming a true literary phenomenon among children. From April 4th the film version of the story arrives on Netflix, set in the United States like the book but produced in Italy, by Colorado Film, directed by Alessandro Genovesi, and the two strictly Italian protagonists. Matilde, this is the author’s real name, made her debut like many of her American and non-American colleagues, on the Wattpad platform in 2017, spreading her first stories there. In December 2020 she then decided to publish, at her own expense on Amazon.
The Tearsmith immediately entered the charts and shortly afterward she was contacted by Magazzini Salani who acquired the rights and decided to republish it in May 2021 in a revised edition. From here Erin Doom never stopped, she published two more books The Way the Snow Falls and Stigma, and then Netflix arrived and decided to bring its #BookTok phenomenon to the screen. The streaming platform has decided to make a film for children from this story, a teen who aims to speak to the heart of a generation of very young people to make them feel less alone, and more understood, to give them examples they can identify. Produced by Winx’s father Iginio Straffi and Alessandro Usai, directed by Alessandro Genovesi, and written by the latter together with screenwriter Eleonora Fiorini, The Tearsmith is a film that aims to become the new Italian teen phenomenon that winks at American titles like Twilight, but which makes the gross mistake of thinking more about “sales” than quality. And now we will explain why.
The Tearsmith Movie Review: The Story Plot
The protagonist and narrator of The Tearsmith is Nica, a little girl who suddenly, after a terrible car accident, finds herself an orphan and is sent to live at the Grave orphanage. Here in this institute, which seems to have come out of a Catholic Christian religious-themed horror film, we do not find evil nuns but Margaret, a strict governess who should change jobs since she is only capable of causing trauma to the poor minors who end up there. As the years pass, Nica becomes a beautiful 17-year-old girl, played by the very young Caterina Ferioli, she has finally found a family, the Milligans, who intend to adopt her. The young woman, however, does not leave the walls of the Grave alone, but in the company of Rigel, Simone Baldasseroni, that Biondo from Amici, a restless and mysterious dark-haired boy, the last person in the world that the protagonist would want as her adoptive brother.
Also, as shown in some fleeting flashbacks of their sad childhood, they were certainly never friends, indeed Rigel was also the only child who mysteriously was not mistreated or suffered punishments from Margaret, the actress, and director Sabrina Paravicini. Nica then finds herself catapulted into a new life, welcomed into a large and beautiful sunny house, with a bedroom of her own and the possibility of attending a real high school. From the first day she will make friends with Billie and Miki, but not only will she also find Lionel, a classmate who seems interested in the newcomer. Rigel will certainly not stand in a corner and watch, also because Nica herself is aware that the shared past has united them in an impenetrable bond that no one can understand or even break. Nica and Rigel, so different and determined to fight the pain, she with kindness and he with anger, will be destined to become, for each other, that very The Tearsmith, the protagonist of the legend they told at the orphanage. Because you can’t lie to the Manufacturer and the two protagonists will have to find the courage to accept that force that attracts them called love.
The Tearsmith Movie Review and Analysis
If you expect a quality film from The Tearsmith, prepare to be disappointed because this film adaptation of Erin Doom’s novel is a huge disappointment. Netflix, unfortunately, has fallen into the mistake of thinking more about selling a product than making a good film and the simplistic and flawed plot of The Tearsmith is proof of this. You can tell from the first minutes of the film that something isn’t working in this film. The characters are not explored in depth, described properly, and left to grow, giving the viewer time to understand their stories, become attached to their personalities, and identify with their pain. Many scenes are disconnected from each other, and many subplots are left unresolved. The Tearsmith is a film that is in a hurry to stimulate the public and to include current and “fashionable” social themes in the plot but does not delve properly into such things as inclusiveness, homosexuality, mental health, gender violence, and child abuse.
All the elements make the film a superficial jumble of social themes, clichés and clichés. Even the love story between the two protagonists Nica and Rigel fails to convince because it tells more of a toxic love than a healthy love – and perhaps it is not a great example to give to younger people – furthermore, it is not contextualized, it does not have its evolution but is only thrown onto the screen with quite sterile erotic scenes that lose their deepest meaning precisely because they are more aesthetic than functional to the story. Thus, The Tearsmith goes from a literary phenomenon to a cinematographic disappointment, proving to be a crude, hasty, simplistic, and decidedly unexciting film. The Tearsmith does not betray the spirit of the novel on which it is based: it is aimed at a very specific audience, teenagers. For this reason, it contains exactly all the narrative passages that are expected from a story created and adapted for a specific target.
The direction is very classic, inspired by the great children’s productions of the past, and therefore functional and not strictly linked to the stereotypes of local productions. The two young performers are surprisingly credible, which can be said of the entire cast. Genovesi can direct the actors as a film requires, which is rather rare with unseasoned Italian actors: the tendency is always theatrical, exaggerated, or – on the contrary – excessively subdued. As if to look natural you had to choose one or the other option. The cast instead moves harmoniously, except Margaret’s interpreter (director Sabrina Paravicini), who forces the hand too much from her first appearance on stage as the evil stepmother of the situation. All in all, however, the film flows without hitches, despite the lack of some parts that would have been very useful for the narrative. All the sequences set in the orphanage that return as flashes to the boys’ present would certainly have been more functional if included in the part relating to Nica and Rigel’s stay in the orphanage.
They seem a bit thrown there, just to justify the behavior of the two boys and pierce the veil on the secrets of the institute, without however really succeeding. The effects are also excellent when needed. The beginning is rather far-fetched but having not read the novel I don’t know if it is faithful. The fact is that the moment could also have been made more realistic. The screenplay is signed by the director himself with Eleonora Fiorini (Light of your eyes). And it would be interesting to understand if the confusion relating to the figure of the tear maker comes from the novel. Because it’s in the film, and it’s quite bizarre given that it gives the story its title. As she is described to us by Nica’s voice, at the beginning she seems like a positive figure, then she is given a negative meaning (by Rigel), and finally the positive aspect returns. The ideas are a bit confusing, like many secondary events and the superficiality in the psychology of the supporting characters.
Nica and Rigel’s army of passionate fans expected this film just as it is. To make it digestible for those who didn’t appreciate the novel, you could start, for example, by changing the point of view, the most popular and shareable criticism already made to the author. Instead, in the film we are forced to identify with her again, the typical chaste and pure girl, lover of nature, holder of unconditional love towards others. All this despite, or because of, the abuse suffered by Nica and the other children in the orphanage. The torture and psychological harassment are dismissed confusingly, except that in the end, perhaps out of a sense of guilt, the minimal room is left for a trial in which the terrible guardian is in the dock. Who always protected Rigel from the violence that she reserved for everyone without hesitation. The reasons remain unknown. Both of the guardian’s bad behavior and why Rigel was treated specially.
Rigel is also a living stereotype, opposite to his beauty. A bad boy in possession of all the details for a stalking complaint that he manages to get adopted thanks to an extraordinary talent in playing the piano. Handsome and with a sculpted abdomen (in fact he is always bare-chested, even when he has a fever of 100 degrees), his only concern is his stepsister. He saves her from a car that is about to hit her on the first day of school (yes, we saw the same scene in the schoolyard in Twilight) and also from rape by the third boy in the love triangle, who could only be another abuser. It should be clarified that a child who teases a little girl to show interest is no longer funny or endearing. It’s just not healthy. Far from demonizing children but not even justifying these behaviors to girls with the obvious “he likes you” (sorry to say it, but the truth is that he doesn’t like you enough is to blame).
So, everything that should be romantic is banal here and celebrates intimidation and violence. The reluctance of the chivalric ideal mentioned above is fine but not even the kindest of damsels could fall in love with someone who has continuously chased and tugged at her since they were six years old. Not even Eva from I Cesaroni, who at least falls in love with her half-brother who sings serenades to her. Just to add a little more drama, or rather to insert further tragic elements functional only to evolve the “love” story, towards the end we discover that a third of the triangle, in addition to being a potential rapist, could be a potential murderer and that Rigel suffers from a very rare brain disease (perhaps this is why he was protected by his terrible guardian? But why should someone like her feel pity if she mistreats children?). Last but not least, a special mention goes to the uselessness of the adoptive parents and the hasty love story between the two girls, just because it had to be there.
Also in the cast is the famous TikToker Nicky Passarella, also making her acting debut, in the role of Billie, the first girl Nica meets in her new school. Among the young performers and newcomers in the cast, the one with the most experience is Alessandro Bedetti, who plays Lionel, one of the schoolboys interested in Nica. To conclude, The Tearsmith has an above-average package if you think of the young adult genre, but it focuses on two protagonists who are novices. Nica and Rigel work very well visually because they seem to have come to life directly from the pages of the book, but when they open their mouths, they break something, and also the tension between the two “enemies to lovers” of this poignant dark fairy tale.
The Tearsmith Movie Review: The Last Words
The Tearsmith, on Netflix from April 4, is the transposition of the novel of the same name. Explicitly aimed at teenagers, the film is full of naivety, typical of a story designed for a very specific target, but the cast is up to the task. Considering that these are mostly debutants or very young actors without much experience, the director (and co-screenwriter) Alessandro Genovesi has done an excellent job, managing to give an international dimension to an Italian production, set in the USA but somehow supported in credibility abroad from soundtrack, acting and direction. Excellent photography. Due to the naivety mentioned above, however strategically aimed at the reference target, I believe The Tearsmith is the only title that I would define as not recommended for people over 18 years of age.
The Tearsmith Movie Review: The Film Based On The Literary Phenomenon For Teenagers Arrives On Netflix - Filmyhype
Director: Alessandro Genovesi
Date Created: 2024-04-04 14:35
2.5
Pros
- Unique Premise: The concept of a world without tears is intriguing and sets the stage for an exploration of emotions and human connection.
- Teenage Dream: The narrative caters to young adults, weaving a classic love story with themes of overcoming hardship and finding acceptance.
- Visually Appealing: Reviews suggest the film boasts a stylish aesthetic, potentially reminiscent of a nineteenth-century setting blended with modern elements.
Cons
- Genre Appeal: This might be a perfect fit for those seeking a sentimental romance, but viewers looking for something more complex may find it predictable.
- Targeted Audience: The focus on young love might not resonate with everyone.
