HE SAID
This 2005 independent film about two lost lovers reuniting at a wedding years after their breakup utilizes a unique method of storytelling by shooting the entire film in split screen. Being that the film is primarily dialogue based between the two characters, the split screen effect serves to show the viewer the same story unfolding from two different perspectives, as well as allowing for flashbacks to occur on one side of the screen, while the main story continues on the other side.
I admit that I was a little wary of the split screen technique when I first heard about it, but, upon viewing the film, I was not distracted by it at all. In fact, I was actually disappointed that the film-makers did not use the approach to its full effect. For instance, most of the split screen shots appear from third-person perspectives, one focusing on the man (Aaron Eckhart), the other on the woman (Helena Bonham Carter). Though this gave the film very much of a voyeuristic feel, there is no sense self. Who are these two perspectives that watch the story unfold? What is their purpose? Though I think the split screen technique has potential, in this film it came across more like a gimmick than anything else.
The overall story was solid, if not a bit run-of-the-mill. There were some twists and turns regarding the character's lives between the time of their breakup and reunion. Some implications were made regarding exactly how and why they separated in the first place, but nothing definite is ever revealed. And it doesn't have to be. The viewer can draw his or her own conclusions. It is really the chemistry between to two leads that is the true storyline…two characters tiptoeing around the fact that they both want to sleep with each other for old times sake, despite both being involved in other relationships. My hat goes off to the script writer for really nailing the nuances of dialogue. Every word felt believable and natural. Nothing was forced, and perhaps this is due largely to Eckhart and Bonham Carter's obvious chemistry on the screen. That is just not something that can be acted.
He Said: A passable movie, but the split screen gimmick makes it none the better. Don't watch it just for that. Great acting, dialogue and chemistry between the characters. Worth a watch…once.
SHE SAID
At a party one evening, I overheard a young man asking an older man how he had been married to the same woman for over 25 years. "Oh, I haven't," he remarked. "She's been many different women." That's about the only explanation I can muster for the title of Hans Conosa's Conversation(s) with Other Women, which is largely a duologue between two now-middle-aged, unnamed characters (Aaron Eckhart and Helena Bonham-Carter) who began (and ended) a love affair when they were much younger.
This is the kickoff of our unconventional romance theme for February, and we even picked this movie out unconventionally (to stay on theme). Generally, selections arrive via Netflix after online research, but we actually walked the aisles at the local video store and picked a random movie from the shelf. This one looked interesting. I liked the cover, and it even marketed itself as "unconventional" on the box.
Part of the unconventionality of the film is that it is shot entirely in split screen. It was an interesting effect which should have been much more to narrative use. The right side of the screen is sometimes used for flashbacks and mental images, but too often is just used to show physical point of view (which gets stale after a while).
In addition to being a movie about love, it's an exploration of time and memory and how love (and loss) taints both of those. "Time really can move in two directions. It doesn't matter to the universe anyway," the Man says. And time is moving in two directions in front of our split-screen eyes. But, despite the split screen even, it becomes mainly a film driven by dialogue, in a screenplay by Gabrielle Zevin. Helena Bonham Carter and Aaron Eckhart both have impeccable timing and palpable chemistry, but once you figure out the story, it's even hard for the dialogue and the chemistry to keep your attention.
In the end it's a story of the romances in our lives with "no happy endings in our future" (or our pasts) and the vestiges of said which still linger nonetheless. Time, memory, wrong, right, all be damned.
She Said: It's a good rainy-day, Sunday afternoon romance. Worth watching but not as good as it could have been with a little more work.
THEY SAID
After reading each other's reviews, The Eskimo and Shawn always discuss the reviews (and the film, too, of course). Listen to the Conversation(s) with Other Women audio commentary below (or download it here) - and find out which film Shawn picked to review next.
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