I know I haven’t posted in a few weeks, and I have going back to school to blame for that. Unfortunately I have been seeing a bunch of movies I wished I had written about sooner. I’ve seen 7 of the 9 Best Picture nominees this year! But anyway, I randomly decided to take a break from studying, and within a minute of searching Netflix (a new record), I found a movie I knew I had to watch.
Let me start by saying I have a huge pet peeve with movie posters listing actors’ names in a format that perfectly matches the actors shown in the poster, but they’re in the wrong order. Why do that? But anyway. The indie film was released digitally first back over the summer, and then quietly released in a few theaters like it didn’t even give a fuck if anyone saw it. The tiniest budget film you ever did see, it really shows the future of the digital film industry and how it can get indies directly to its audience, much like Beyoncé and her seminally classic album, Beyoncé.
Yes Queen. Anyway. So the story is about two couples, one played by 50/50 and Pitch Perfect’s Anna Kendrick, and New Girl and Safety Not Guaranteed’s Jake Johnson.
The other couple is made up of House and Tron’s Olivia Wilde and some guy named Ron Livingston.
Anyway. Olivia and Jake’s characters work at a Craft Beer factory together, and they are super flirty and the kind of people you would meet at the beginning of a nice and boring rom com. But this is not that!
The two couples go on a retreat beach house type trip for a weekend, and it starts to become obvious that neither of the couples seem like they belong together. Olivia and Jake’s characters are the extroverted, fun-loving types while Anna and Ron’s are quiet and reserved. And the two couples appear to be dating the wrong members of the group VERY early on in the film.
The film is very subtle in its action, but–and I didn’t know this until after I finished it–ALL of the dialogue is improvised! I had a slight hunch about this while watching the film, but if I had known it beforehand, I would’ve been so impressed the entire time with how well the actors handle each scene. And you can tell all of the focus is on the characters, because there is so little cutting. Most scenes are one shot entirely (which makes sense with the improv structure), and the camera follows the two actors as they work out their turmoils with this impending awkward situation.
The Jake/Olivia relationship is especially weird, because neither of them ever seem to notice their romantic tension throughout the film. They just seem like… as the title suggests… buddies. They laugh together, their relationship is so much more playful than the real couple, Jake and Anna’s characters. But even when you’re sure you know how this movie is going to end, you’re COMPLETELY wrong.
That’s what I thought was so great about a film that had nothing to work with but four great actors. The incredible things it does with subtlety, and scenes that often include so little action, is so thought-provoking and real. The film asks the question very profoundly: how do we know if the person we are currently in love with is “the one?"
I suggest everyone go see this movie. It’s quirky in its approach, but going in with any love for these actors will only enhance the viewing experience. I am seriously impressed.
