Museum Hours (2012)

Posted on July 16, 2016 by 4 Star Films

There are few films where art and film more obviously intersect than Museum Hours. In fact, its director and general mastermind Jem Cohen blends the line between filmmaker and multimedia artist. His generally deliberate piece on Kunsthistorisches Museum of Art follows two figures in the vibrantly beautiful city of Vienna, Austria

Johann (Bobby Sommer) is a museum guard with a reassuring face full of kindness and good humor. He spends his days in the museum, a place where he finds tremendous tranquility and great contentment in the vast intricacies of the beauty around him. For others, this would be wearisome work. From his perspective, it’s an immense joy. His eyes are constantly taking in the world around him, bright and full of awe. Always ready to help.

In one such occasion, his gaze happens upon Anne (Mary Margaret O’Hara), an obviously frazzled traveler, lost in a world that is foreign to her. In truth, she came to Austria after receiving news of the deteriorating health of a distant relative. Johann willingly gives her directions to the hospital and soon enough the museum becomes her little oasis too.

So if the film did have a plot that would be it. Two people finding a connection in a great big city. And yet this film is hardly Coppola’s Lost in Translation. The arrival of Anne in Austria is seemingly only a pretense for the audience to spectate. In some ways, it’s quite reminiscent of the contemplative nature of Christ Marker’s Sans Soleil, at times blended with the naturalistic visuals of Malick’s Tree of Life. It operates as part film, part documentary, with voice-over often playing over images. Everyday scenes mixed with works of art, and ultimately leading to a greater appreciation of both.

Often the camera is stationary and as such it watches the world of Austria rather like the patrons who wander through the halls of the museum surveying the most mundane things with a degree of awe, peering at the beauty that lies there within. We can use the same critical eye we use to look at art for life. Not to find fault but on the contrary, to develop a greater appreciation for all that is around us.

The likes of Cranach, Rembrandt, and especially Bruegel bring to light the beauty that can be found in our world, even in the smallest of instances. Different people take it different ways. A tour guide will become didactic, patrons in a tour group will try to come up with all the answers, and kids are content sitting in a corner to stare at their phones as the world passes them by. But Johann has the right idea. It really is rather a child-like perspective, in the sense that each day brings new excitement and he garners great joy out of the little things.

Obviously, I’m a bit biased as someone who likes paintings and art history, but Museum Hours is a powerful film that truly elicits a greater appreciation for art, but more importantly life itself. Really, there’s no need for a score, because that would almost detract from the pensive nature of Cohen’s work. It’s about the juxtaposition of visuals. That’s where it gets its power.

4/5 Stars

In a World (2013)

Posted on June 25, 2016 by 4 Star Films

What makes In a World… work for me is a new perspective on material that could potentially be so cliche. Even when it enters long-trod territory we as an audience are able to extend grace to a film that is willing to step out there. The film’s writer and star Lake Bell crafts a story set in the world of movie trailers, where her character, Carol Solomon, looks to make the leap from a vocal coach obsessed with dialects, to a full-fledged trailer narrator. It has the potential for a light, unassuming payoff, for a topic that feels so slight, but In a World… is indubitably rewarding.

It starts with Lake Bell’s Carol, a character who is easy to get behind. Her dad is a highly-acclaimed voice-over artist, who also happens to be a Grade-A jerk. Her sister’s stressed by a hotel concierge job and to have family plopped long-term on her couch is only another annoyance. Moe (Rob Corddry) is probably the most chill of all her relations, and he’s a brother-in-law with an easy-going vibe and a genuine love for his wife. To his credit, Corddry proves he can play roles that an audience can sympathize with.

Besides Carol, the most pivotal character is Louis (Demetri Martin), that slightly awkward, slightly awesome, male love interest, who happens to work in the recording studio with her as a sound engineer. They must go through the cringe-worthy conversations and interactions that are almost a rite of passage for the genre, before finally getting together as they are supposed to. That includes uncomfortable telephone conversations and a very eventful party at the home of trailer champ Gustav Warner. As Carol must navigate her own romantic entanglements, Dani’s marriage to Moe takes a hit when she starts entertaining the advances of another man. It’s in such moments that In a World… sheds its simple layer of humor and gets to something a little more substantial. These are genuine moments involving characters like Dani and Moe who we truly feel for, not to mention Carol and Louis, who both exhibit a refreshing level of earnestness.

As Carol tries to get her big break by beating all her male competition, she continues to get lack of support from her father, until things get real personal. He too decides to audition for the coveted voice-over for the upcoming epic quadrilogy “The Amazon Games.” It pits father against daughter, man versus woman, and the results are more than memorable. For me, Demetri Martin is a standout with his dorky turn, and we get another appearance from perennial indie supporting cast member Nick Offerman, not to mention a cameo from Geena Davis (and Eva Longoria)!

3.5/5 Stars

Please Give (2010)

Posted on June 18, 2016 by 4 Star Films

What is Please Give about? The most succinct answer I can muster up is that it is about the simple rhythms of life. It’s about people rubbing up against each other, the neighbors you try and be nice too, but speak about behind closed doors. In writer-director Nicole Holofcener’s fifth collaboration with Catherine Keener, the latter is Kate, a woman who lives a life of uncomfortable dichotomy with her husband and teenage daughter.

Next door is the cranky grandma Andra, who is quite along in age, and she gets assistance from her granddaughters, who are both young professionals. Rebecca (Rebecca Hall) works as a radiology technician often spending her days giving mammograms, while her fashionable sister Mary (Amanda Peet) works as a cosmetologist. Their grandmother is not exactly the most agreeable person, and her acerbic nature earns the disdain of Mary and the quiet industriousness of Rebecca. They both have different ways of dealing with other people just as they have different ways of approaching love. Rebecca is quiet and looks for love in a nice young man. Mary constantly checks out the woman who stole her old boyfriend and embroils herself in an affair.

Meanwhile, Kate feels uncomfortable for buying Andra’s flat and waiting for her passing to start renovations. Likewise, in her joint venture with husband Alex, they buy people’s old possessions at estate sales and make major profits on their furniture. These issues along with a rebellious streak in her daughter, make Kate noticeably agitated, and she tries to overcompensate. She gives money to every homeless person she ever sees and tries to volunteer at numerous spots across town without much success.

The film suggests that we can tread a thin line on the margin of what is honest and what is termed “the ways of the world.” After all, if we balance it out with enough good deeds it ends up okay in the end, right? On her part, Kate has an odd way of dealing with her own sense of morality when it comes to her family business and the homeless on the street corner. Her husband is a generally agreeable man, who has no trouble with what they do, but he at least admits it, just like admitting when he flirts with other women.

Above all, I think Please Give boasts interesting female characters, in fact, they are the focal point of Holocener’s story, and it makes for a worthy character study in an industry that is often male-centric. Within these women is hypocrisy, pettiness, and a lot of insecurity, but it manages to be invariably funny as well as perturbing at times.

3.5/5 Stars

The Sessions (2012)

Posted on June 11, 2016 by 4 Star Films

I was a bit skeptical of this film at first, but I can say unreservedly that it boasts true heart and sensitivity. In many respects, it reminds me of another film about a man with a so-called disability, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. In both, a highly creative individual is able to defy their physical barriers and truly impact the world around them.

In the case of Mark O’Brien (John Hawkes), he graduated from Berkeley destined to become a journalist and poet, the only difference with him is that for most of his life he has been confined to an iron lung that keeps him alive. It seems like an obvious roadblock to success in life, and yet not so for Mark because he faces each day with a sense of humor and even a spirituality that is impressive. He relies on his caretakers for so much and yet they enjoy helping him because he is a generally kind spirit. First, it’s the beautiful Amanda (Annika Marks), who he sincerely professes his love to and then there’s Vera (Moon Bloodgood), who while frank, is still deeply concerned with his well-being. Furthermore, the local priest (William H. Macy) is equally willing to listen to Mark’s confessions, not simply about sins, but more importantly his life on a whole.

Mark’s a very transparent individual, who attacks life with a positivity and tenacity that goes beyond the physical. Wit becomes his precious ally in facing every day, and he also takes great care in the relationships around him. He wants to live his life to the fullest, and he won’t let an iron lung impede him. Thus, he decides that he would like to try and have sex since he is still a virgin and feels that he might not have long left to live. And so, after consulting with his priest and acknowledging the sensitive nature of the decision, he tentatively decides to go for it. Cheryl Cohen-Greene (Helen Hunt) becomes his sex surrogate, and yet she is more of a therapist than anything else. She helps Mark become more and more comfortable in his own body and there is a beautiful vulnerability and openness to their time together.

The Sessions proves that there can be depictions of sex that can be as tender and sensitive as the characters involved. It’s not some vulgar act or a simple gratification of desire. It has more significance than that, just as these characters carry more significance. Father Brendan is not a perfect character just as Mark is not perfect, but we appreciate them for their geniality and light touches of humor. As for Cheryl, she does a great favor for Mark, and yet in the process she herself is deeply moved by this man in front of her. He’s seemingly so weak, so unassuming, and yet there is so much vibrancy to him.

The day Mark dies is sad for all of us and gathered at his funeral are all the people we expect to be there. The Father gives a heartfelt eulogy as all the women he touched sit in the pews looking on. The beauty of this story is that Mark finally did find love quite by accident, and he touched so many lives in the process. Though not a perfect film, The Sessions is heartfelt and that covers a multitude of faults.

4/5 Stars

In Bruges (2007)

Posted on June 4, 2016 by 4 Star Films

Near the end of the film, one of our main characters questions whether or not being stuck in Bruges is the equivalent to being in Hell. However, far from badmouthing the Flemish city, director Martin McDonagh actually makes it a fascinating backdrop for a film. It’s a city full of history, romanticism, mystery, and even peril. It just depends on how you look at it, with eyes of reverence or general disdain.

In Bruges, the film, only happens because two men have to make a quick getaway after knocking off a target in London. That is the life of a hit man. Quick work and then long periods of waiting. That is the majority of what we witness, following the existences of Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson). Ray is a bit of a jerk sometimes and to him, Bruges is a living nightmare. Completely and utterly dull. But then he happens upon a fantastical film set starring a dwarf. There a beautiful woman Chloe (Clemence Poesy) catches his eye and then Bruges doesn’t seem so bad after all. At least for now.

Then there’s Ken. He’s not looking for casual companionship or booze. He has respect for the arts, the places of worship and the culture around him. Both men share foul Irish mouths and a general jadedness about their profession. After all, being a hitman is a living, but as Ray finds out it’s not without its stress. Shooting a little boy on accident takes its toll, and Ray must contemplate the entire framework of his morality. Meanwhile, Ken sticks by the phone and gets a call from their fiery boss Harry (Ralph Fiennes). He gets an order, and it catches him off guard. He already has his next assignment, but now he must attempt to reconcile orders with personal conviction. These are hitmen with a conscience.

Scum of the earth, yes, rough around the edges, maybe, yet somehow they still reveal their humanity. The miracle is that through the violence, we still find common ground to relate with them. We become thoroughly involved in this tale that, while darkly funny, is most certainly moving. When all the shots are fired, what we’re left with feels like a Shakespearian tragedy sprinkled with the absurdity of Bosch. Place all of this in front of the quaint Flemish setting and you have a rewarding adventure. I also recently saw Hot Fuzz and it seems that these films could almost be watched in tandem. Aside from both being British productions, they both have action, violence, and dark humor, but perhaps, more importantly, they exhibit genuine heart. That’s something not to be taken too lightly these days.

3.5/5 Stars

Copenhagen (2014)

Posted on June 3, 2016 by 4 Star Films

Sometimes you attempt to make a mental pros and cons list to try and convince yourself in one direction or the other after watching something. Copenhagen was such a film for me. Bike rides through the city. Pro. At times this film loses its steam and flounders a bit. Con.

In truth, the narrative does feel pretty thin when it comes to the main character William trying to track down his grandfather in Copenhagen. William for that matter is a foul-mouthed and generally annoying jerk of an American for most of the film. Also, the weird romantic tension that builds between him and Effy is obviously uncomfortable, but the will-they-won’t-they component is key to the entire narrative. Because essentially this is a film about a grown man finally coming to age, with the help of a very mature 14-year-old girl, who acts as his guide through Denmark.

That being said, the scenery in and around Copenhagen is obviously a lot of fun to partake of, and it truly is the perfect place to ride a bike around, day or dusk. Furthermore, with her husky voice, feisty nature, and winning charm Frederikke Dahl Hansen makes this film with her turn as Effy. True, she’s playing a character quite a bit younger than herself, and yet she succeeds wonderfully and really thrives as the winning force in this film. Because, if we don’t like her this film has little hope of rising above its narrative foibles and the utterly annoying nature of its other main players. Effy makes us like William at least a little tiny bit by the end of this story. And that’s a major compliment to her. To his credit, Gethin Anthony is easy to dislike, but that undoubtedly can be credited to his acting. His character does come around in the end too, not so much because of the quest for his grandpa, but he learns what it is to be a man and to treat others with the respect they are due. Namely in this case a 14-year old girl, and also is his best bud, Jeremy.

So is this a film I would recommend… Yes, but I tried to lay all the cards on the table because you could easily enjoy this film or just as easily find it disconcerting and tiresome. I fell into both categories at different times, but there were some truly entrancing moments that are hard to forget. Effy is almost hypnotic during her singing session in the bar. And traipsing through an art museum becomes a fascinatingly intimate study of the human form. Perhaps now more than ever Denmark will be on my travel radar since it looked like an absolutely brilliant place to spend a summer.

3.5/5 Stars

Room (2015)

Posted on January 24, 2016 by 4 Star Films

Room_Poster Brie Larson has been on my radar for a while, ever since The Spectacular Now and Short Term 12. But she’s also a personal favorite who deserves to be in the company of other such shooting stars as Jennifer Lawrence, Shailene Woodley, Miles Teller, and Michael B. Jordan just to name a few.

Some of us already knew Larson had great performances on tap, but Room was just the ticket to get more people to finally prick up their ears and take notice.

From the annals of contemporary literature comes a story that asks us to buy into a premise that constantly unravels and unfolds until we are opened up to entirely new worlds. Ironically enough, it comes from shedding all falseness, getting outside of the box, and getting back to the old world — the real world.

Jack (Jacob Trombley) has spent his entire existence in Room with Ma (Brie Larson). Television has become his main educator and he believes in magic realms beyond Room that exist within the world of T.V. In truth, he has an utterly false sense of reality, but how could he not? All he knows are the dimensions of Room with a little skylight to peer out of and a tiny closet where he keeps his bed. His hair is overgrown like a little Samson and Ma tries to keep him fit and healthy the best way she knows how.

But Jack cannot quite comprehend what is happening around him, after all, he’s only 4. After his birthday, Ma decides it’s time to try and explain it to him. They are being held in Room against their will. A man name Old Nick kidnapped Ma, continually abuses her, and keeps her locked up. She doesn’t give Jack all this, but all he needs to know is that Nick is bad and they must try to escape. That is enough.

In essence, Ma fabricated this reality to keep him out of harm’s way. This bubble, known as Room, is all Jack has ever considered to be real. The rigidity and the regiment are what his life runs on. Now it’s time to leave the rabbit hole behind and relearn how the world ticks.

The initial conceit brings to mind Bunuel’s Exterminating Angel whereby the main characters are simply unable to leave a room — but the reason is arbitrary. Here Ma and Jack are able to get help and reacquire their freedom. But being outside of the confines of that space does not make life any easier.

Jack is an inquisitive, skeptical little boy, who even has moments of belligerence. However, when getting to the outside he clings to Ma like never before, because she is the only human form he has ever known besides Dora the Explorer and his imaginary dog.

Although the camera work feels rather shoddy at times and unextraordinary at best, the film nevertheless evolves into a human drama and its true substance dwells therein.

There’s a matter-of-factness to Trombley’s voice-overs that deliver his honest observations of all that exists around him. The aftermath of abuse is volatile. Director Lenny Abrahamson’s film removes any notions that life can simply be normal again in a normal world with normal relationships because that’s just not true. It cannot be. The mundane is never as simple as all that. There are complications and confusions. Room‘s latter moments are quieter, more tender, and even more heart-wrenching. But there’s also searing pain and red-hot altercations. They’re about survival in the wake of something so horrible like abuse, but it’s also about surviving all the repercussions that follow.

For Jack, that means making discoveries with a fresh, innocent pair of eyes. There is absolute sensory overload with new and novel stimuli flooding his senses constantly. He’s subjected to new sights, sounds, words, and the entire world that he hardly ever knew. He even needs to learn how to play like a little boy.

For Joy it involves dealing with what’s going on in her head and coping with pain that has been festering for years, causing her to lash out at her family. Even interviews cause her to question her own choices that are now fully solidified with the passing years. Could she have reacted differently? Did she have Jack’s best interests in mind?

The relationships of father, mother, and daughter, mother and son, dredge up pain and hurt. However, a suicide attempt and a stay in the hospital for Ma, reveal Jack’s child-like faith in what it means to live. They are two wounded individuals. One who has entered into a world that he has never known, and the other trying to settle into a life that now feels so distant and foreign.

Room is about two people making their way in the world. It succeeds not simply because of its anchoring performances, but due to the fact that it is willing to dwell in the difficult, heart-wrenching, and even mundane places. In those areas it speaks of love and strength that allows even the smallest most damaged goods among us to shed any shackles that inhibit our joy in life. Love knows no boundaries. That doesn’t make it easier. It’s just the truth. Ma and Jack are able to give up their baggage — reconciling the old with a new way of life.

4.5/5 Stars

The Station Agent (2003)

Posted on December 18, 2015 by 4 Star Films

Life takes all sorts of people. Otherwise, our everyday human interaction would have no meaning, no real importance. But when each person brings something different to the table, that’s when life gets interesting. We need the introverts, the extroverts, and every shade in between. That’s really what The Station Agent is about. It’s made up of a ragtag cross-section of humanity. Each one’s a different puzzle piece and you wonder how they ever got together. But they all get thrown into one box in the sleepy town of Newfoundland, New Jersey, and these people wind up living life together. Maybe it sounds rather banal, but the result is actually quite rewarding. I don’t exactly find trains exhilarating, but if you have somebody to share them with they’re not so bad.

The central character in our film is a train aficionado and reserved man named Finbar (Peter Dinklage). He’s been gifted a ramshackle shack bequeathed to him by the elderly proprietor of the hobby shop he used to work at. They both shared a contentment in silence and a deep affection for trains. Fin has seemingly lost his only friend in the world, and he resigns himself to silence because he assumes that all people ever notice about him is his size. They don’t seem to care about the person inside the body and he doesn’t want to take a chance. But that’s before he meets the genial dynamo Joe (Bobby Cannavale), who runs a coffee cart out in the boonies. It’s absolute torture for such a vibrant personality, and he jumps at the chance to have someone to talk to nearby.

The quiet little man constantly deflects any attempt by Joe to become acquainted and yet it never fazes him. First reluctantly and then wholeheartedly Fin allows Joe on his long walks along the train tracks, and Joe breaks down the barriers. The unlikely pair gets even more unusual when they add middle-aged artist Olivia (Patricia Clarkson) into their ranks after she nearly runs over Fin several times. Like her two new acquaintances, she has personal issues to work through on her own. But that doesn’t mean she has to live life alone, and with Joe being the glue, these three have something going that truly blossoms into friendship.

Two of the other pieces of the puzzle include the inquisitive girl Cleo, who shares Fin’s fascination with trains and builds an instant connection with him as children often can with other people. She’s direct, innocent, and she accepts Fin for who he is. Then there’s Emily (an almost unrecognizable Michelle Williams), the local librarian, who adds another layer to the town’s charm. She is pretty, but also very sweet and open to talking with Fin. Really she’s just looking for someone to listen since she’s going through a pregnancy with a boyfriend who is bad news.

It’s easy to respect The Station Agent because it’s not a story where romance heals all wounds. There are two such moments when the film could have easily become that, but Tom McCarthy has a greater respect for his characters than that. They don’t get caught up in needless romantic entanglements for the sake of drama. Their interactions are more nuanced and sensitive than that. Because Joe might make jokes, but behind that veneer is a deeply caring heart.

Noticeably McCarthy also has a great respect for quiet. His film is full of solitude as much as it is full of human interaction. That might be off-putting to some, but it makes the story all the more powerful, juxtaposing the idle chatter with tranquility. On his part, Peter Dinklage gives a breakout performance as a man who realizes he can let people into his life. Because in life true friendship can form between people of all colors, shapes, and sizes. We have to give out a chuckle when this unlikely trio is sitting on the porch talking about Fin’s love life one last time. Not in a million years would we expect to be sitting there with them enjoying the moment. But it happened and we do. In many ways, it’s a lot like life.

4/5 Stars

Garden State (2004)

Posted on December 5, 2015 by 4 Star Films

Garden State was written and directed by Scrubs star Zach Braff before he made it big, while he was still struggling to get into the business. It’s one of those deep blue funk movies where a person has to find themselves in the giant mass of humanity. Andrew Largeman’s mom just died from drowning in a bathtub. He hasn’t seen his dad (Ian Holm) for about a decade because they haven’t really been on speaking terms. Now he lives in L.A. across the vast expanses from his native New Jersey. He works in a very zen Vietnamese restaurant and surreal daydreams clutter his apathetic mind.

The question is what will shake him out of his despondency because the death of his mom is only the inciting incident. As it is with a small town community, he’s constantly meeting all the old acquaintances from his high school days. Most are impressed by his foray in acting even though he hasn’t made much a career of it yet. The people he reconnects with include his old friend Mark (Peter Sarsgaard), who works at the cemetery and doesn’t have much of a life except smoking weed. Then there’s Jesse who made a killing off Silent Velcro and now has all the time in the world for parties in his huge mansion.

That’s not what does it though. It’s when Andrew is sitting in the doctor’s office, hoping to get checked, because he’s been having headaches after being off the meds he’s been prescribed all his life. There he meets Sam (Natalie Portman) for the first time, and he’s never the same. She’s a scatterbrained, off-the-wall personality with a lot of energetic pizzazz. That about covers it except she also has epilepsy and is a compulsive white-lier. But in her Andrew finds a genuine spirit, who can revitalize his life, by giving him sympathy in his pain, while also brightening up his everyday reality.

On his last day in New Jersey, Andrew obviously wants to spend the time with Sam, but it ends up turning into a daylong treasure hunt as Mark tries to track something down. It isn’t much, however, it’s the thought that counts, and on their odyssey, Andrew is finally able to let go of a lot of the hurt and pain he’s been harboring. He’s ready and willing to forgive his father.

Then, there he is in the airport terminal getting ready to leave Sam for L.A. He has to get back and he promises to call her, but he seems to remember he’s a different person now. It’s a delightfully sweet ending to the film and we absolutely want it.

Braff’s wistfully apathetic demeanor is so wonderfully personified by a memorable soundtrack including alternative rock groups like Coldplay and especially The Shins. His brand of acting is really just playing a wet noodle, but he does it well. Those beady eyes of his constantly scanning back and forth nervously around the space he inhabits. And the film certainly has some dirtiness around the edges, but our main couple is so endearingly sweet. I respect a film that respects its characters such as not needing to show them having sex all the time, but it can paint their romance in more playful, soft, even intimate shades. Andrew takes drugs and curses, but only to dull the pain or express his bitter frustrations. Sam’s the kind of girl who states that she’s not innocent, confirming our suspicions of just the opposite. We appreciate both of them exactly for those reasons. He rides an army issued motorcycle with a sidecar for goodness sakes, and she gets teary-eyed over a deceased hamster. They’re quite the pair.

3.5/5 Stars

Like Crazy (2011)

Posted on November 28, 2015 by 4 Star Films

Like Crazy is the genesis, the passion, and the heartache of a romance all wrapped into 90 minutes of film. Our two subjects are filmed as individuals at first and the cinematographer opts for a handheld camera approach to capture their moments together. The loosely woven narrative is based on director Drake Doremus’s own experiences with a transatlantic romance. In the film Jacob (Anton Yelchin) is an American college student living and going to school in L.A. After her heartfelt confession of affection, Jacob begins a relationship with the British-born Anna (Felicity Jones), who is in country on a student visa.

The film slowly evolves into a montage of their time together as they grow closer and closer. It’s a beautiful picture of tentative and affectionate love coming into bloom. And with her visa about to expire Anna decides to forgo it all and stay with Jacob. But the Visa issues come back to bite her and continue to give the couple problems. Soon they are separated by an entire ocean dealing with the many challenges of long distance relationships.

For Jacob, there’s another girl (Jennifer Lawrence). For Anna a guy down the hall who asks to borrow her appliances. It’s so much easier having these people in close proximity, and it challenges their wills. Because airfare is expensive and talking through text message just simply isn’t the same. It works at first but it seemingly is not sustainable.

Marriage seems like the best option for them to hold what they have together as Anna’s Visa problems still loom overhead. But it’s hardly a quick fix and over time there’s a breakdown in what they have. Even when they are together they have trouble connecting, not shouting, and not getting annoyed. Because, more often than not, they are apart now. The best they can do is wistfully remember the intimacy they had before and try and go forward from there.

Like Crazy generally stays away from the constricting effects and inflexibility of your typical plot line. The script was more of an outline and the dialogue was essentially the two leads ad-libbing most of their interactions. But this lends an organic quality to this, dare I say, trendy indie love story. There’s vast distance juxtaposed with intimate close-ups. Emotions embodied by images become paramount over words. In a sense, we see their nakedness and not literally, but we see that vulnerability in those most intimate times in a relationship, sharing bits of bliss together. Whether they are in Santa Monica or London, the scenery is only a place in which the two of them are having moments. The type of times they remember in the shower or while they sit in the bar with their friends, or when they sit doodling at their desk. It’s those times that make them want to make this thing work despite the distance. It’s a difficult trade-off and I’m doubtful anyone has found the precise answer for it. Because all the countless advances in technology cannot give us intimacy only imperfect substitutes that will never fully replace the real thing.

It is a great joy watching Felicity Jones and Anton Yelchin play off of each other because aside from one occasion, their performances are quite subtle and refreshing. We even get an appearance from Jennifer Lawrence. For this reason, it’s fun to watch a film like this and see where the talents have gone in only a couple of years. The Theory of Everything, Star Trek, The Hunger Games. But there’s always a necessary niche for smaller films like this. I look forward to more takes on love from Drake Doremus and Felicity Jones has gained one new fan today.