“There’s a moment, as you grow up when you realize life is nothing like the fable you thought it was when you were a child. It’s rather a battle. And if you don’t look within and fight it, you end up losing the meaning of things seeking salvation outside of you. In something or in someone. And that’s where you must be cautious, because you may only find monsters or become a monster yourself.”
The dialogue at the opening of Eitan Pitigliani’s Mr. Nothing is a warning that we know in our bones, but it can be more effective if we hear it spoken out loud from a friend or even say it to ourselves. We should not trust someone with our hearts or emotions even if our skin is vibrating to let them. Sometimes we rush into acts of lust when intentions aren’t fully clear or realized, and it can end up harming us more deeply than the loneliness that drove us to that point. Pitigliani’s film is a cautionary tale that will never lose its meaning.
“Come to me,” Leo tells Giorgio over chat via a dating app, and the two share a passionate, immediate connection. We can tell that Giorgio was reluctant to begin swiping left and right since he is looking for something more meaningful, but Leo’s body and his confidence are a too irresistible of a combination to ignore. Giorgio has been hooking up with other men (he has a hot encounter in an alley), but Leo seems like the type of man that men constantly fall for. He has that natural ability to sink his hooks into someone with a dismissive glance or a hard fuck.
When Giorgio thinks this could turn into something serious, Leo tries to keep him in check. ‘I could be the worst person in the world’ he tells Giorgio as he entertains hunk after hunk in his apartment unbeknownst to Giorgio. I couldn’t help but notice how much Leo spends in his own space. Men come to him like he’s being served male decadence on a platter. There is a moment where we see him taking selfie after selfie in an elevator, the flash bouncing off the glassy walls and his gaze fixed on himself. Pitigliani keeps the action of Mr. Nothing moving swiftly as sex and heartbreak tussle around together, and he keeps a steady stream of gorgeous Italian men coming without losing track of the essence of the emotions.
We cannot change how other people treat us, but tending to another’s heart with care and purpose is at the center of Pitigliani’s short. If you dole out cruelty like currency, it is bound to be paid back to you. Looks fade, desires evolve, and everyone can have their heart broken or their dreams dashed.
