Plant Daddy
2021 · 10m · USA
Directed by Peter Ferris Rosati
Genres: comedy, drama, experimental
Tones: absurdist, contemplative, whimsical
An illustrator brings home a houseplant and accidentally starts treating it like a son, which derails his work and gently shears him from reality. Paternal instinct meets the photosynthesis aisle.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
Houseplant-as-dependent is exactly the kind of premise that should be unbearable, and yet Rosati plays it dead-straight in the prettiest earth tones. Insufferable concept, lovely execution.
Taking plant parenthood literally enough to wound is the rare conceit that earns its sentimentality — Quentin Dupieux gets domestic and dries out the punchline is a clean tonal claim. Yes.
Treating plant parenthood literally enough to wound, with the illustrator's fatherly bond untethering him from work and reality — Dupieux-gets-domestic is a real lane and the earth-tone compositions suggest control. Quietly weird in the best register.
Reviews
Rosati's film is carried by its performances, its dry sense of humor, and its lovely earth tone compositions.