Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Toni Collette, Imogen Poots, Aaron Paul, Sam Neill
Directed By: Pascal Chaumeil
Nick Hornby’s book deserved better than this. To be fair, I haven’t read the source material. I’m just assuming, because I have read other Hornby books, that he wrote a better book than was adapted onto the screen. It feels so fast, like we’re missing large chunks of story. Because of this, relationships feel underdeveloped, characters feel underdeveloped. It’s a shame, because the cast definitely came to play ball. Specifically, Toni Collette, who is always perfect, delivers another great ‘depressed’ role, one that she coined perfectly in another Hornby adaptation, About A Boy.
Four strangers meet on a rooftop on New Year’s Eve, after planning to kill themselves. They end up not going through with it, and instead they make a pact to survive till Valentine’s Day. They become fast friends (very fast), and end up saving each other from their various depressing lives.
The film itself isn’t that depressing, it’s a dramedy for sure, but it’s not an incredibly sad film. Sam Neill’s character is so poorly written it’s disturbing. We’re supposed to not like him in the beginning, because his daughter (Poots) doesn’t like him… but we’re never really given a reason why. He seems like a solid guy… the entire film. I realize he’s a supporting character, but come on.
Poor direction and poor storytelling let down the cast. The initial plot is fine, but the filmmakers took a shortcut to the end. I never really cared about the characters, or the relationships. Everything felt sudden, because everyone is so underdeveloped. The fact that (SPOILER ALERT) two of the main characters end up together is baffling, considering they spend so little time together as a couple, and barely flirt.
Broken people don’t just find each other. Chemistry is involved.
FINAL GRADE: C