By George & Josh Bate
While simultaneously generating laughs, comedy, if engineered carefully, has the unique capacity to embed poignant commentary. This is something the horror genre has excelled in, with recent fare like Get Out, Midsommar, and The Invisible Man all coupling what one expects from the genre with interesting, deeper messages that provoke thought. Through the lens of humor, the new Tribeca premiere Fior Di Latte does something similar in going beyond what one would expect from the genre, in this case using the framework of offbeat, surreal comedy to portray a moving story about nostalgia and memory.
Fior Di Latte is helmed by first-time director Charlotte Ercoli and stars Tim Heidecker as Mark, a socially stunted and creatively troubled playwright. As he struggles to come to terms with increasing isolation from his roommate and (sort of) girlfriend Francesca (Marta Pozzan) and ostracization from his industry colleagues, Mark turns to an unusual escape from his predicament: huffing perfume. Doing so allows him to relive memories of a happier time in which he spent a summer vacation in Italy, although it comes at the consequence of his health, relationships, and focus on reality.
There is not a single actor on the planet more capable of bringing such an eccentric and creative premise to life than Tim Heidecker. The actor and comedian known for his work on the long-running series On Cinema at the Cinema, the John C. Reilly-led comedy series Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule, and various projects with Eric Wareheim, including Tim & Eric’s Bedtime stories, has developed a reputation for unorthodox, some might say even bizarre, humor. To the writers of this review and with no exaggeration whatsoever, Heidecker is the funniest and most versatile comedian alive. He is also one of the most underutilized, meaning a starring role in a Tribeca premiere like this definitely grabbed our attention. And, even with our high expectations of Heidecker heading into the film, Fior Di Latte soars.
For those familiar with Heidecker’s work, Fior Di Latte plays very much like an episode of Tim & Eric’s Bedtime Stories. The premise itself is strange, there’s a couple musical sequences, even an animated part, and an overall surreal quality that encompasses much of the film. With the length of a feature film at her disposal though, Ercoli develops a more complete story, one that deftly balances understated humor and genuine emotion, while retaining a real strangeness.
Fitting as the lead characters are playwrights in New York City, Ercoli engineers the film with an artistic, indie sensibility, aided by subdued and grainy cinematography from Thimios Baktakis. On the surface, the film feels like a myriad of other stories about struggling artists living in the Big Apple, but there is so much more to Fior Di Latte than initially meets the eye.
The audience is introduced to Tim Heidecker’s Mark in a stuffy, cluttered apartment bedroom. Memorabilia from actors and movies of the past are sprinkled across the room and make it difficult to catch a glimpse of the floor. Amongst the mess is Mark, intently bidding on EBay for a used kimono supposedly owned by Mickey Rooney while sniffing a pair of his own boxers. Much like the impression Mark gives off to others, this beginning is off-putting in a humorous yet almost sad way. Mark isn’t immediately likeable either, as he is rude to his roommate Francesca and largely unaware of social cues.
The unusual introduction to Mark is followed by an unusual, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory-esque musical sequence that gives the film a fantastical quality. All of this makes for an unconventional start to a movie, to say the least. However, as the film progresses and the layers of Heidecker’s character unfold, this unconventionality is recontextualized. In other terms, what was early in the film seen as bizarre becomes clearer and even understandable as we learn more about Mark.
Much to the detriment of his social relationships and career as a playwright, Mark becomes consumed by a perfume called Fior Di Latte, which reminds him of a heavenly vacation he had in Italy. Carefully placed flashbacks throughout the film offer a peak into what this vacation entailed and just how Mark once was. Desperate to recapture these long lost feelings, Mark has resorted to huffing what’s left of the perfume on a pair of his boxers. As he loses access to the scent on his boxers, Mark begins a relentless pursuit for the rare perfume, which eventually sees him collide with an eccentric perfumer played by Kevin Kline, an importer of illegal goods played by Gina Gershon, and an aspiring actress played by Julia Fox.
Despite the sadness inherent to Mark’s pursuit, his journey and Heidecker’s performance prove undeniably funny. There are rarely massive, laugh-out-loud gags, but, rather, a wealth of awkward moments, idiosyncratic facial expressions, and expert, subtle comedic timing from Heidecker that give Fior Di Latte an effectively nuanced sense of humor. The jokes might not work for everyone, especially those unaccustomed to Heidecker’s brand of humor, although the film does not solely depend on the effectiveness of its jokes as many comedies do.
Where Fior Di Latte most excels is with its usage of humor to explore themes of nostalgia, memory, and madness. The concept of a man addicted to huffing perfume is unusual and funny in a Tim Heidecker sort of way, but it also opens the door to a genuinely heartfelt and heartbreaking story. Mark is desperate to relive a romanticized past, so much so that the promising life around him in the present is shattering to pieces. Anyone watching the film will resonate with the idea of looking fondly to the past and even wishing that things were how they used to be. And many will also resonate with how a desperate pursuit to manufacture past emotions that once occurred naturally will ultimately prove unfruitful. It is difficult to watch Ercoli’s film without pondering one’s own yearning for the past, perhaps a past that never actually was how we liked to think it was. To provoke these thoughts and memories within the prism of a comedy makes Fior Di Latte all the more noteworthy viewing. Ercoli’s film begs the audience to acknowledge the past and move on, to not be lost in our memories, but, rather, reorient ourselves to the present to obtain happiness. Labeling the film thought-provoking, moving, and inspirational would be an understatement to just how powerful, in multiple ways, it is.
Featuring in every scene of this powerful journey is Tim Heidecker, who arguably gives his most multifaceted and nuanced performance ever. Heidecker couches much pain and sadness in comedic comments and crafts the unusual and even off-putting Mark into a character with universal relatability. It is difficult to conceive of how Fior Di Latte would operate without Heidecker as the lead, such is the actor’s perfect suitedness for this role. Supporting players like Julia Fox and Kevin Kline are given some quirky moments, but all of this is in service of Heidecker’s character and the simultaneously troubled and hilarious journey he goes on.
VERDICT: 9/10
First-time director Charlotte Ercoli deftly blends offbeat comedy with profound and powerful commentary in the Tribeca Festival premiere Fior Di Latte. A bizarre beginning headlined by a bizarre lead character creates a humorously unconventional start to a movie that transforms into something deeply relatable and moving. With the most nuanced performance of his career, star Tim Heidecker delivers all sorts of subtle humor as a failed playwright addicted to huffing perfume. But the film’s greatest success lies in its exploration of nostalgia and memory as Heidecker’s character smells perfume to take himself back to a happier time in life. The emotions that are elicited from this journey are as heartfelt as they are heartbreaking and will prove universally relatable to any viewer, quite the testament given how unusual the movie and its lead character can be. Throw in a Willy Wonka-esque Kevin Kline, a couple musical sequences, and even an animated part and it is easy to become intoxicated by the humor and heart of Fior Di Latte, a superb feature debut from Charlotte Ercoli and a resounding vehicle for the limitlessly talented Tim Heidecker.