‘Pity’ Film Review: From Greece, a Mordant Comedy About Tragedy
Sundance 2018: Co-writer Efthimis Filippou (“Dogtooth,” “The Lobster”) continues his string of compelling, off-putting bleak farces
Sam Fragoso | January 19, 2018 @ 11:24 PM
Last Updated: January 20, 2018 @ 7:13 AM
Sundance Film Festival
Pain is not only painful; it’s repetitious. At least that’s the case in director Babis Makridis’ “Pity,” a slow-burn drama about the relentless heartache loss tends to cause.
In the beginning, we find Giannis (Yannis Drakopoulos) standing inside his home, in front of the door. He’s in a white button-up shirt and horn-rimmed glasses. There’s a knock at the door. A woman enters. She has a homemade Bundt cake. In “Pity,” there is an endless supply of these luscious pastries. It’s one of the few bright spots in Giannis’ otherwise morbid existence.
The film trudges through the trenches of his wife’s coma. Her sickness has spawned a despondency in Giannis, who can’t seem to move forward. Without her, how could he?
There are myriad of ways to tell this story. Where most films would verge toward a hospital-heavy long haul, “Pity” goes a different route. Efthimis Filippou (who co-wrote the project alongside Makridis) focuses on Giannis’ interiors. Each day our protagonist awakes in panic. In his boxer briefs, he inches toward the edge of his bed, and begins to uncontrollably weep. Like clockwork, as the sun rises his tears fall. He can’t stop them. In fact, as the story proceeds, it feels as if Giannis is addicted to his own suffering.
All of this sounds more bleak than it is. Filippou comes from the Greek school of Yorgos Lanthimos, with whom he co-wrote “Dogtooth” and “The Lobster.” In these milieus, tragedy is unborn comedy, morbidity waiting to transmute into levity.
Miraculously, Makridis doesn’t undercut the seriousness of Giannis’ plight with humor. The laughs derive naturally from Drakopoulos’ pitch-black performance. Sardonic and epigrammatic, situations turn uproarious through uncomfortable gestures and body language. For example, there’s something silly about Giannis’ interactions with his dry cleaner, who routinely asks him about his wife. He’s very “sorry and sympathetic” in the way most strangers are in the wake of other people’s calamities. The dry cleaner doesn’t know what to say, so instead he says everything.
For some, the film’s “awful, relentless torment” may grow monotonous. After all, there’s only so much tearful howling an audience can stomach. Mileage will vary.
But it’s the details that make Makridis’ sophomore feature worth enduring. Giannis’ home is antiseptic and modern, equipped with enough furniture to function, but nothing more. Makridis’ minimal presentation appears to be intentional. Best not to distract from tribulations with accessories. The color palette is Easter Sunday, full of light blues and pink Ralph Lauren oxfords.
Outside of Giannis’ window is water and palm trees. The external serenity grows funnier with each passing minute. The outside world is peacefully abiding, while Giannis remains stagnant. His wife’s coma has engendered a kind of breakneck paralysis. “Pity” simply asks us to sit in the discomfort with Giannis. There’s a rhyme and reason to Makridis’ cinematic request. On the side of misery is often more misery — and then, maybe, if you’re lucky, some light.
13 Hottest Sundance Movies for Sale: From Ax Murderers to Notorious 'RBG' (Photos)
Park City, Utah, is about to be flush with cash -- and we're not talking about buying apres-ski gear. Here are the most promising sales titles of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.
"Tyrel"
After his stunning performance in "Mudbound," Jason Mitchell is back in this drama alongside Caleb Landry Jones, Michael Cera and Ann Dowd. Buyers should go crazy for the film about a guy who goes on a weekend birthday trip to a cabin -- but he's the only black guy on the retreat.
Sundance
"Lizzie"
There's much interest in "Lizzie," which chronicles the life of Lizzie Borden, who was tried and acquitted for the 1892 ax murders of her father and stepmother. Chloe Sevigny, Kristen Stewart and Denis O'Hare star.
Sundance
"Burden"
Garrett Hedlund also gave a stellar performance in "Mudbound," playing the son of a man associated with the Ku Klux Klan. In "Burden," Hedlund is a repo man rising through the ranks of the KKK, but everything changes when he falls for a woman (Andrea Riseborough). The additional cast of Forest Whitaker and Usher should entice buyers.
Sundance
"The Miseducation of Cameron Post"
Chloe Grace Moretz stars as a high school teenager who gets caught in the backseat of her car with another girl. She's quickly shipped off for conversion therapy, where she for the first time feels like she can find her place among fellow outcasts. The strong themes of pain and loss while finding yourself and your identity should make it a hot title -- after all, it's based on Emily Danforth's acclaimed novel as well.
Sundance
"Juliet, Naked"
Perhaps one of the most anticipated films on the Sundance schedule, "Juliet, Naked" is an adaptation of Nick Hornby's best-selling novel. Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke and Chris O'Dowd star in this comedic drama about a woman who is in a transatlantic romance with a once-revered musician.
Sundance
"RBG"
What better time to release a documentary about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg?
Sundance
"Piercing"
Based on Ryu Murakami's critically acclaimed novel, this steamy yet bloody thriller will get Midnight audiences' --- and buyers' -- heart rate up.
Sundance
"A Kid Like Jake"
Director Silas Howard is debuting his film "A Kid Like Jake," featuring an ensemble that includes Claire Danes, Jim Parsons, Octavia Spencer, Priyanka Chopra, Ann Dowd and Amy Landecker. Howard, who's directed boundary-pushing TV series like "This Is Us" and "Transparent," here focuses on parents whose young son prefers princesses to action figures.
Sundance
"The Happy Prince"
Rupert Everett's directorial debut details the final three years of Oscar Wilde's life. Colin Firth and Emily Watson round out the cast of this period film.
Sundance
"American Animals"
There will never be enough heist films in the world, and the cast of "American Animals," which includes Evan Peters, Barry Keoghan and Blake Jenner, promises to pull off one of the biggest art thefts in recent history. Plus, it's a true story.
Sundance
"Ophelia"
"Ophelia" retells Shakespeare's "Hamlet" from the point of view of the melancholy Danish prince's presumed future wife -- played by Daisy Ridley, hot off "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" and "Murder on the Orient Express." Naomi Watts and Clive Owen round out the cast.
Sundance
"Sorry to Bother You"
This film boasts one of the most impressive casts of any film heading to the festival, and that won't be lost on buyers: Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Steven Yeun and Armie Hammer star in the original comedy.
Sundance
"Wildlife"
Jake Gyllenhaal and Carey Mulligan star in Paul Dano's directorial debut, about a couple in a foundering marriage in small-town Montana in the 1960s.
Sundance
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Sundance 2018: Streaming companies and indie distributors will battle it out for these movies
Park City, Utah, is about to be flush with cash -- and we're not talking about buying apres-ski gear. Here are the most promising sales titles of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.