Review: How To Be Single

How To Be Single
Cert: 15 / 110 mins / Dir. Christian Ditter / Trailer



Whilst being carpet-bombed with products and services for GIRL-THINGS™ for 27 minutes prior to the film, I watched the trailer for The Choice, the upcoming movie based on the Nicholas Sparks novel of the same name. As the promo-reel served not so much as an enticement for the film, but basically the entire thing in a truncated 3-minute form, I found myself thinking "hang on, this looks remarkably like the last trailer for a Nicholas Sparks adaptation I saw. And the one before that. And the one before…" At that moment I realised pretty much exactly how tonight's target-demographic feels when they sit through a trailer for a superhero movie. Just as I wasn't buying the clichéd horseshit about sanding down boats and going for long walks with dogs under emotionally turbulent skies etc, these fine cinemagoers around me don't think "Hey, I like the way they've adapted Iron Man's armour for the new movie; it really evokes the silver-age without being too retro!". Seriously ladies, I can tune out the odd TV and billboard advert that I know isn't aimed at me, but after being force-fed for half an hour the bullshit you're exposed to constantly? I genuinely have no idea how you manage to live in this world full-time. I salute you.

Which is more than Warner Brothers are doing in their cinematic interpretation of How To Be Single, a film which is every bit as patronising and methodical as you'd expect (and, I suspect, as was intended). Recycled chick-flick tropes fill the gaps left by the borderline-incoherent storytelling and erratic editing. Nowhere near as provocative or hedonistic as it'd like to think it is, but thoroughly unable to commit to being contemplative (or even mawkish), either.

At its best, How To Be Single is faintly amusing, if facile and self-indulgent. At its worst, the film is like being waterboarded with Lambrini, your gurgled screams drowned out by a Cosmopolitan-compiled playlist. That the script goes so far as to dismissively reference both Bridget Jones and Sex & The City shows just how far above its station the film's ideas are. The cast give good value for money as far as they're able, but they're hobbled by a format which objectifies and belittles them far more than the society it's cocking a snook at. The Insecure one, the Mumsy one, the Needy one and the Fat one*¹. You can go out and party as much as you like, girls! As long as you conform while you're doing it. Well played, Warner Brothers, well played.

Oh, and take a good look at that poster. It's the only time you'll see those four actresses in the same room. I'd initially wondered why the IMDB page for the film lists Alison Brie far, far apart from the other stars (in the Rest of cast listed alphabetically section), especially as it's apparently in 'credits-order'. This is because while Brie's character and Dakota Johnson's character share a mutual friend, Alison's story-thread has not-fuck-nothing to do with the rest of the film. It feels like some side-anecdote which the movie keeps forgetting to tell or wasn't edited out properly.
Bizarre, unfocused and every bit as slapdash as the rest of the production...

"Maybe we're been making all the wrong moves? Maybe we've been focusing on the wrong stuff and now it's too late..?" says Johnson's Alice in a third-act moment of realisation.

I imagine the editing-team remarked much the same thing, just before they handed in their final cut of the film…

Being patronised by film studios suggesting your love-life (or lack thereof) is somehow not dramatic enough.



It's not really designed for that format, to be fair.



Well I didn't utterly despise the film, despite its best efforts, so no.



I should hope not.



A little bit.
I mean, probably not a lot.
But yes.



There isn't.



Level 2: Rebel Wilson is due to appear in the upcoming Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie alongside Celia 'Bravo 5' Imrie and Gwendoline 'Phasma' Christie.







*¹ I like Rebel Wilson. I want to like her more, I really do. But her ongoing choice of roles is frankly atrocious.
Take a long look in the mirror, Rebel. Or just watch Grimsby. Either/or.

DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.

Review: Carol

Carol
Cert: 15 / 119 mins / Dir. Todd Haynes / Trailer



Despite the atrocious social politics, the 1950s seem alright, don't they? The two lead characters in this movie sit down in a restaurant, order and have their food (plus cocktails!) in front of them within four minutes! I can't even get the waiting-staff's attention in that time. That said, I look like neither Cate Blanchett nor Rooney Mara, so…

Adapted from Patricia Highsmith's 1952 novel, The Price Of Salt, Carol stars the aforementioned actresses struggling to reconcile the relationship they both want; not only because of general societal norms, but also because of the expectations of their friends and families. And if that all sounds a bit too over-earnest, don't worry, it's not really. As Drama™ goes, Carol is directed a little too languidly for its own good, and Haynes' pace is too relaxed to seize the angst and emotional drama that's at the core of the story.

The film is saved by its performances, rather than being driven forward by its narrative, and both Blanchett and Mara inhabit the roles completely. I bought into Carol and Therese's characters individually, but not so much their relationship, although I suspect that's because the film itself is hesitant about exploring that too deeply. It's also important to remember, of course, that the story was written around the time it's set, which explains much of its slightly reserved tone. While most serious dramas at this time of year smells a lot like awards-bait, I think Carol shows too much restraint for its own good, and will probably slip through the Oscar-net*¹.

A fine looking movie in terms of sets and wardrobe, cinematographer Edward Lachman makes great use of both reflection and unconventional framing. But his colour-balancing, film-grain and camera-wobble are all over the place, the latter of which suggests a lot of zoom/crop shots. A story about a relationship that didn't bloom, rather than one that shone and burned-out, the film isn't always as visually quiet as the tone of the script requires it to be. Although the final dialogue-free scene saw many of my perceived gripes pushed aside*².

Despite the combination of the story's era and subject-matter, there's little which is daring or challenging about the film, yet it's still an engaging watch throughout. Carol feels more like a repressed melodrama than an intense romance, and I'm not sure that does it any favours in the long-term…

It is, but…



…you wouldn't lose too much by spending that £10+ on the DVD and watching it at home.



Not quite, although both Blanchett and Mara are outstanding in their work and they can't all be the best performance.



For me, no.



Nope.



Nope.



Cate Blancett starred in those Lord Of The Rings and Hobbit movies, alongside Sir Christopher 'Dooku' Lee.







¹ Plus, with the best will in the world, I just don't think it's that good. And while I'm on, how the hell does Kyle Chandler get an 'And' credit?? He's hardly the special guest of the week, ringing on the doorbell as he pops round to borrow a cup of sugar, single-handedly raising the profile of the film with his presence alone, now is he?

*² Not my gripes about the photography, though. That much hand-held camera-shake for the final, measured, interior tracking shot is nothing short of excruciating.


DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.