The Tearsmith 2024 Movie Review
Based on the novel of the same name by Erin Doom (published in Italy by Adriano Salani Editore), The Tearsmith (aka Fabbricante di Lacrime) is an Italian teen romance film which is new to Netflix from today. The movie – directed by Alessandro Genovesi – stars Dana Melanie and Simone Baldasseroni, and tells the story of two orphans who develop romantic feelings for each other after they are adopted together.
In the movie, Nica is orphaned as a child when her parents are killed in a car accident. After spending years at Sunnycreek Orphanage, Nica reaches her late teens and is adopted alongside fellow orphan, Rigel.
Nica and Rigel move into their new home together, but have a strained relationship. There is tension between the two, made worse by Rigel’s suggestive advances, which Nica initially spurns.
However, over time the pair gravitate towards each other. Rigel has deep feelings for Nica, and they fall in love.
Before going any further, I feel it is important to tell you The Tearsmith runs approximately 1hr 44 minutes in length. This is an important piece of information because it is a long 1hr and 44 minutes filled with teenage angst, questionable characters, and a story which is frankly a load of rubbish.
The basic premise is that two teens are a bit horny for each other. One of them is a supposedly mean and moody tortured soul, who plays the piano and wears a leather jacket, while the other is a gentle yet confused young woman who likes animals and wears sticky plasters on her fingers.
It’s all supposed to be very edgy, ethereal, and somewhat romantic. Both of these characters had tough upbringings at the orphanage, which means they’ve had awful lives (yawn) and audiences are supposed to become invested in their shared pain, their anguish, and their defining character traits.
Problem is, neither the characters nor the story are strong enough for anyone to become mildly concerned or interested. Nica and Rigel are paper-thin caricatures, rather than fully rounded people, and the script is badly written twaddle filled with clichés.
The whole thing plays like it has been cobbled together by a teenager with time on their hands and a skewed view of life. None of it is entertaining and all of it is a waste of resources, time, and money.
The film tries multiple times to build some kind of emotional response, often through music or staging (a suggestive look here, a rogue hand there), but it all feels artificial. Nothing about this movie plays like real life, everything seems heightened for no reason, and the ‘romance’ between Nica and Rigel comes across as being a bit icky.
I get the impression director Alessandro Genovesi wants everyone to fall in love with Rigel, because he’s mysterious and roguish, but sadly he’s all a bit too creepy for his own good. He comes across a bit like a sex pest more than anything else, and his interest in Nica is not fun to watch for the vast majority of the film.
Nica doesn’t come off much better either and is largely a limp wet lettuce. Her love for Rigel is contrived, she’s more or less a drip throughout the movie, and by the conclusion of the film I couldn’t care less who she ends up with or what happens to her once the credits roll.
To make matters worse, the central characters exist in a movie which doesn’t seem to really go anywhere. The plot could be condensed into a five minute short and even then it would be too long and pointless.
If you feel compelled to watch The Tearsmith heed my warning and don’t bother. It’s complete tosh which will bore you rigid and make you want to thrown your television set out of the window.
Netflix has rated the movie a ‘15’, suggesting it’s suitable for the slightly older teen crowd (there is a boob shot in the film), but I’m not entirely sure who this picture is really aimed at. It feels a touch too racy for youngsters, yet too bland for adults, and ultimately too shit for anyone alive.
