The Trailer:
Director: Michael Dowse
Main Cast: Daniel Radcliffe & Zoe Kazan
Synopsis: Wallace (Daniel Radcliffe), a man fumbling through life, begins to fall for Chantry (Zoe Kazan) whom is in a committed relationship.
Oh look at that, another movie starring Daniel Radcliffe. Can you really fault me for loving him? I hope not! Anyways, so you know that I'm not a huge fan of rom-coms, they're sappy and predictable and this movie is no different. But I actually found myself liking it. I think it's mostly due to the quirky, off-beat, humorous dialogue throughout that truly made me laugh and appreciate this movie.
So let me get the obvious things out of the way: This is 100% predictable. Of course Wallace and Chantry are going to fall in love. Of course there are going to be rough patches that make you think otherwise, though you know in your heart that they will end up together. And while the skeleton of the story is rather formulaic, it is the meat and flesh that really allow the story to be unique and likeable. Daniel Radcliffe as Wallace is meekly charming, he is confident yet unassertive which makes him totally adorable. Zoe Kazan as Chantry is confident and excessively sure of her relationship with her boyfriend (or is she?). And their friendship is one to admire. Together they have this steady, back-and-forth banter that is amusing and showcases how they're quite compatible with one another. And the way each actor can so effortlessly deliver theses playful lines without it seeming forced and sound genuine shows their acting chops. Applause applause! Also the secondary characters deliver good lines as well and really drive Wallace and Chantry to their separate realizations that they do want to be romantically involved and not just friends. Something else that I admire about What If is that there is real character development for both characters. They are not just people drawn up for a movie, they are real people with realistic struggles and ambitions and lives. I see them existing outside of the movie and that's rare with the typical rom-com characters. That is the display of fantastic writing, so congrats writers! Another display of great writing is how all the characters are likeable. There is not one character who I don't like. Even Chantry's boyfriend, who according to other rom-coms, should be a douche-bag who doesn't deserve her yet he's not. He's a good guy and everybody knows it, which is the conflict here. Both Chantry and Wallace realize that Ben (Rafe Spall) is a wonderful guy and doesn't deserve anything bad such as Chantry breaking up with him or Wallace wedging himself into their relationship. And I like that. Oh, and I forgot, there are all these cute little animations that are used throughout the movie that Chantry's character created (she's an animator) and I just like that animation mixed with real life aspect. Fun!
In conclusion, I like What If. It was fun and quirky and cute. They're not your usual couple and I like them for it. It's predictable but worth watching and it poses some good questions about love and relationships like: can women and men be friends without developing feelings? Or how can you balance relationships and careers in a way that works? Or is it ever okay to break up a relationship, especially if a person in said relationship is your soulmate? How do you handle finding the right person at the wrong time? They're not philosophical, answers to life and the universe questions but they're relevant to our time and people in general. Would I watch this again? Yes, I would!
No comments:
Post a Comment