Tenderness (2018) Plot Summary Explained

Lorenzo had become emotionally detached from his children Elena and Saverio as they grew older. His silence in the hospital reflected a lifelong pattern of withdrawing from emotional connections rather than confronting them. This detachment was later confirmed when he admitted to Michela that he once loved his children when they were young but grew distant as they aged.

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Fabio was described as a neurotic engineer who struggled to form emotional connections with his children. This inability mirrored Lorenzo's own failed relationship with his offspring, suggesting the film explores how some people are constitutionally incapable of sustaining parental bonds, whether due to personality traits or psychological barriers.

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The film does not explicitly state Fabio's motive, but the timing is significant. He committed the act immediately after Lorenzo left Michela's house following his confession about emotional detachment from his own children. Fabio's inability to bond with his children, combined with the conversation about psychological shields against pain, appears to have triggered his breakdown.

Foreshadowing: The Sunday confession about parental detachment directly preceded the tragedy.

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After the massacre, Michela was the sole survivor but lay dying in the hospital. Lorenzo visited her daily, pretending to be her father, to maintain a connection with her and perhaps to fill the paternal role he had failed to fulfill with his own children. This act represented his attempt at redemption through caregiving.

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Lorenzo discovered he was not actually Michela's biological father, which came as a bitter revelation given his emotional investment in her. A restraining order was subsequently issued against him, likely because his prolonged visits while pretending to be her father, combined with this discovery, raised concerns about his actions and intentions.

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The film revealed that Lorenzo, throughout his career as a lawyer, had won many cases by assisting false invalids and participating in various scams to cheat the state. This corruption contrasted sharply with his later attempts at redemption through his relationship with Michela's family.

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After Michela died, Lorenzo left his home, which worried his daughter Elena who had always cared about him despite his distance. This departure represented another form of withdrawal, but it also set in motion the final reconciliation scene at the courthouse where Lorenzo would finally reach out to Elena.

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The silent handshake at the courthouse represented Lorenzo's first physical and emotional connection with his daughter Elena in years. After a lifetime of withdrawal and following the devastating events with Michela's family, this quiet gesture hinted at the possibility of reconciliation without spoken words, embodying the film's themes of imperfect healing.

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Michela was Lorenzo's new neighbor who moved in with her husband Fabio and their two children. She invited Lorenzo to smile more and became a comforting presence in his solitary life. Through her, Lorenzo experienced a sense of family he had lost with his own children, and her tragic fate became the catalyst for his final attempts at connection.

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Rossana was Lorenzo's old lover whose current life choices had contributed to the unraveling of his marriage. During the period after the massacre, Lorenzo revisited this relationship, suggesting that his past personal failures, both with family and romantic partners, were part of the larger pattern of disconnection the film explores.

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