What Is Pity About?
The premise of Pity in 294 words, with nothing given away. The full story follows below.
In a stark, still‑minded world where joy feels foreign, a solitary lawyer discovers that his only gateway to feeling alive is the ache of sorrow. Costas Xikominos has learned to measure his existence by the depth of the pity he can draw from those around him, turning melancholy into a strange kind of sustenance. The film unfolds with a quiet, almost clinical tone, inviting the audience to watch a man who seems to thrive on the very emotions most people flee.
The fragile balance of his life tilts when his wife slips into a lingering coma after a tragic accident. Evi Saoulidou becomes both the object of his desperate yearning for compassion and a silent witness to his emotional calculus. Friends, neighbors, and strangers gather, offering comfort that feeds his hidden dependency, while the quiet hum of the hospital corridors reflects the tension between genuine concern and his covert hunger for grief.
Amid this personal turbulence, his professional world pulls him into a fresh, unsettling case involving two siblings reeling from a violent loss. As a lawyer, he approaches the mystery with the same probing intensity that fuels his need for emotional resonance, using his legal mind to dissect human pain while quietly hoping the investigation will supply the sorrow he craves. The courtroom and the home become intersecting stages where his inner turmoil plays out in subtle, unsettling ways.
The atmosphere is one of muted melancholy brushed with an unsettling curiosity, as the story whispers about the lengths a person might go to sustain a feeling that defines them. The film teeters between stark realism and an almost lyrical examination of dependency, leaving the audience to wonder how far a soul can stretch in pursuit of the very sorrow it cannot live without.
What Happens in Pity?
The complete story of Pity, from the first scene to the last, in 207 words (about 1 minute). Spoilers throughout. Names in the text link to 2 cast member pages.
Spoilers ahead
A lawyer Costas Xikominos who is severely addicted to sadness is in a desperate need of pity, and he goes to great lengths to evoke it from others. His wife Evi Saoulidou lies in a coma after an accident, and friends and neighbors rally around him to offer comfort during her slow convalescence. Meanwhile, he takes on a new job helping two siblings whose father was brutally killed, and he carefully examines the dynamics of the murder, using the same emotional pull he craves to study the case.
When the wife miraculously emerges from the coma, he finds the pity he depended on is fading away. To keep the emotion flowing, he fabricates the impression that she remains unconscious, a lie he clings to until the truth can no longer be hidden. He then sets out to manufacture sorrow for himself: first by abandoning his pet dog in the middle of the sea. When that plan fails to produce tears, he intensifies his actions. Drawing on the same manipulative logic from the murder investigation, he ends up killing his father, his wife, and his own son. Yet even with these grave acts, he cannot cry. In the end, only the dog survives, swimming back to the shore.
Pity Timeline: Every Key Event in Order
11 key events in the order they happen, from “Pity-seeking lawyer in crisis” to “The dog’s survival and return”. 11 events name a place, across 8 locations.
- 1
Pity-seeking lawyer in crisis
A lawyer is deeply addicted to sadness, craving pity from others. His wife lies in a coma after an accident, and friends and neighbours do everything they can to comfort him, while he remains emotionally distant. The emotional supply of others becomes the central fuel of his life.
Where:City apartment
- 2
New murder-case assignment
He starts a new job helping two siblings whose father was brutally killed. He studies the case closely, tracing motives and family dynamics to map out the murder. The task also becomes a laboratory for the very dynamics of sorrow he craves to evoke.
Where:Siblings' home
- 3
Wife awakens from the coma
The wife miraculously comes out of the coma, shocking those around them. The sudden revival exposes the fragility of the pity narrative he’s been feeding on. He faces the reality that his emotional supply is no longer guaranteed.
Where:Hospital
- 4
The lie about the wife’s status
He begins telling people his wife is still unconscious to preserve the pity he depends on. Friends and neighbours accept the story, while the truth gnaws at him. Eventually, he recognizes that maintaining the lie isn’t sustainable.
Where:Neighborhood/social circle
- 5
A plan to evoke deeper sorrow
Convinced that the pity is fading, he decides to inflict pain on a grand scale. He first abandons his pet dog in the middle of the sea, hoping this extreme act will trigger the emotional response he desires.
Where:Sea
- 6
The dog abandonment
He executes the act of leaving the dog at sea, aiming to provoke pity from others. The movie does not immediately reveal the dog's fate, as the focus shifts back to the moral and emotional collapse of the lawyer. The act marks a turning point toward lethal extremes.
Where:Sea
- 7
Killing his father
Employing the same psychological dynamics as the case he’s studying, he murders his father. The act is carried out in the family space and mirrors the investigative principles he uses on the murder case. It serves as a grim step in his escalation toward total destruction.
Where:Father’s home
- 8
Killing his wife
Driven by the same need to manufacture sorrow, he takes the life of his wife. The act unfolds within the walls of the home, intensifying the personal tragedy he tries to stage for others. The emotion he seeks remains elusive even as the crime dominates the scene.
Where:Home
- 9
Killing his son
Continuing the pattern of his calculated grief, he kills his own son. The violence compounds the ruin left in the wake of the earlier killings and deepens the moral emptiness surrounding him. The story makes clear the crime spree is an attempt to force tears that never come.
Where:Home
- 10
Still unable to cry
Despite the chain of murders, the lawyer remains unable to cry. The pity he seeks has vanished, leaving him hollow and detached from the consequences of his actions. Friends and colleagues confront the chilling gap between surface emotion and inner reality.
Where:Home
- 11
The dog’s survival and return
In the end, the dog is the sole survivor. It swims back to shore, a silent witness to the carnage and the emptiness of human sorrow. The narrative closes on the irony that the dog, not the man, survives the attempt to provoke pity.
Where:Sea shore
Who Are the Main Characters in Pity?
10 characters, among them Nikos (Costas Xikominos), Wife (Angeliki Papoulia) and Son (Pavlos Makridis): who each one is and the part they play in the story. Every profile links to the actor’s page.
- N(
Nikos (Costas Xikominos)
Played by Costas Xikominos
A lawyer consumed by sadness who treats pity as a social currency. He uses calculated displays of sorrow to influence others and deepens his involvement in the murder case. Despite outward control, he remains unable to cry, revealing a profound personal void.
- 💔 Grief
- 🧠 Calculated
- 🤝 Manipulative
- W(
Wife (Angeliki Papoulia)
Played by Angeliki Papoulia
A woman in a coma whose condition elicits widespread sympathy from friends and neighbors. Her vulnerability becomes the trigger for the community’s supportive responses and ultimately unsettles the protagonist’s façade once she awakens.
- 💖 Care
- 🫂 Vulnerability
- 🏥 Illness
- S(
Son (Pavlos Makridis)
Played by Pavlos Makridis
The couple’s young son, whose presence intensifies the family tragedy as the story spirals toward violence. His role underscores the personal stakes and the toll of the protagonist’s manipulations on innocent life.
- 👶 Family
- 🌀 Tragedy
- 🗡️ Violence
- VD
Victim's Daughter (Nota Cherniavsky)
Played by Nota Cherniavsky
The daughter of the brutally killed man, a figure who embodies the ongoing impact of the crime on the next generation. She represents both innocence and a continuing thread of grief within the community.
- 🧒 Witness
- 💔 Grief
- 🧭 Aftermath
- GN
Good Neighbor (Georgina Chryskioti)
Played by Georgina Chryskioti
A neighbor drawn into the family’s crisis, reflecting the social pressure, judgment, and collective response of the local community to tragedy.
- 🧑🤝🧑 Community
- 🏘️ Neighbour
- 🗣️ Gossip
- N(
Nurse (Marissa Triantafyllidou)
Played by Marissa Triantafyllidou
A hospital nurse who tends to the wife, illustrating the routine care that frames the drama. She quietly witnesses the shifting currents of sympathy and the mounting tension in the household.
- 🏥 Care
- 🧼 Professional
- 🕊️ Compassion
- S(
Secretary (Evdoxia Androulidaki)
Played by Evdoxia Androulidaki
A hospital secretary who manages information flow and interacts with the family, grounding the hospital setting within the broader emotional landscape of pity.
- 👩💼 Office
- 🗒️ Admin
- 🗣️ Communication
- G(
Grandpa (Kostas Kotoulas)
Played by Kostas Kotoulas
An older presence in the neighborhood who contributes a traditional perspective and a sense of continuity amid the upheaval.
- 👴 Elder
- 🛡️ Protector
- 🗣️ Voice
- DC
Dry Clean Shop Owner (Makis Papadimitriou)
Played by Makis Papadimitriou
A local shop owner who interacts with the family and neighbors, adding texture to the fabric of everyday life around the tragedy.
- 🧼 Small Biz
- 🗨️ Local
- 🧺 Everyday
- MT
Music Teacher (Viktor Arditis)
Played by Viktor Arditis
A character who provides a moment of normalcy through music, offering a contrast to the film’s dark core and enriching the social milieu in which the drama unfolds.
- 🎶 Education
- 🧭 Culture
- 🎭 Art
Where and When Is Pity Set?
Pity is set in Home, Hospital and Sea. Here is why the place matters to the story.
Where
Home, Hospital, Sea
The story unfolds in a contemporary urban setting, centered on a family home. Key locations include the hospital where the wife lies in a coma, the intimate domestic space of the couple, and the sea where the dog is abandoned. The neighborhood environment acts as a backdrop for the social dynamics of sympathy, rumor, and moral pressure.
- 🏠 Home
- 🏥 Hospital
- 🌊 Sea
What Are the Themes of Pity?
3 ideas the story keeps returning to, among them Grief, Moral Decay and Consequences.
-
01
Grief
A lawyer obsessed with being pitied navigates personal tragedy as a currency. The wife's coma becomes a stage for others' sympathy, while the husband manipulates appearances to prolong the performance of sorrow. The film examines how grief can be exploited to control others and validate one’s own sense of self.
-
02
Moral Decay
The protagonist's relentless pursuit of pity pushes ethical boundaries into self-destruction. Lies become a currency, and the line between truth and fabrication collapses as violence emerges from the need for compassion. The narrative reveals the fragility of social morality under extreme personal pressure.
-
03
Consequences
The escalation from deception to murder culminates in a catastrophic breakdown of family bonds. The lone survivor is a dog, highlighting innocence amid human wreckage and prompting reflection on mercy and fate. The ending invites contemplation of what pity costs those who seek it.
What Kind of Film Is Pity?
Dark in tone, with steady pacing and a moderate story, going by the plot summary.
- Tone
- Dark
- Pacing
- Steady
- Story
- Moderate
- Intensity
- High
- Ending
- Bleak
An intensely bleak and unsettling psychological drama that follows a man's desperate, horrifying descent as he manufactures tragedy to feed his addiction to pity.
- unsettling
- melancholic
- desperate
- oppressive
- lonely
- chilling
- addiction
- grief and loss
- descent into madness
- psychological torment
Content notes: murder, animal cruelty, self harm, graphic violence, domestic violence.
Quiz
How well do you remember Pity? Test yourself on the story.
