Summary
Within the bustling, terracotta-hued confines of New York’s Little Italy, Edward José’s 'My Cousin' orchestrates a poignant, often whimsical, exploration of identity and the crushing weight of familial legacy. Tommasso, a humble ornamental plasterer whose bushy mustache and gangly movements betray a soul yearning for artistic validation, labors over a clay bust of his doppelgänger cousin, the world-renowned tenor Caroli. This duality—the starving artist versus the gilded icon—serves as the film's structural spine. Tommasso’s aspiration to wed Rosa, the daughter of the pragmatic restaurateur Pietro, is thwarted by his perceived poverty and the looming presence of a more financially stable suitor, the greengrocer Lombardi. The narrative pivots on a cruel irony: Tommasso’s desperate attempt to prove his kinship with the great Caroli during a night at the opera leads to a devastating public snub at Galeotto’s restaurant. Ostracized by his community and doubted by his beloved, the sculptor must navigate a path toward reconciliation that bridges the chasm between the elite world of the Metropolitan Opera and the gritty reality of the plaster shop, ultimately seeking to sell his masterpiece to the very man who inadvertently demolished his reputation.
Synopsis
Sincere but struggling sculptor Tommasso (Caruso--bushy moustache, gawky) works in an ornamental plaster shop, but his masterpiece on the side is a bust of his cousin Caroli (Caruso--no moustache, polished), who is the Metropolitan Opera's leading tenor. Tommasso hopes to marry his model Rosa, but her father, restaurant owner Pietro, wants her to find someone more settled and money-conscious, such as the greengrocer Lombardi down the street. Tommasso, he says, throws away his money, such as for a pair of tickets to take Rosa to the opera to see his famed cousin. After the opera, the cousins cross paths in the swanky Galeotto's restaurant, but when neither recognizes the other, Tommasso is generally mocked and Rosa believes him a liar and unworthy. Tommasso must recover his reputation and make a sale, preferably the Caroli bust to his cousin, in order to win Rosa back.
