Directors: Rob Burke and Ronan Burke
Stars: Brian Gleeson, Jessica Paré
Alan (Gleeson) is down on his luck. He’s been stood up at the altar and works as a part-time tourist aid at Dublin airport, and the only outlet for his passion is gigging in pubs with his friends. Then, unexpectedly, he meets an old American flame at the airport, a woman he had a romance with eight years ago when he studied in America. He promised to return to America but never did, and they haven’t spoken since then.
Do you ever watch a film and think that it’s made specifically for you, or that somehow the writers have tapped into your experiences and put them up on the screen? Standby is such a movie for me. Like Alan, I had a romance while I was in America and afterwards I was unable to get back there, and although we still talk it’s not with the same frequency as we used to, and people move on. I’m glad to say that my life is in a better position than Alan’s as well, although I do have a year on him, so when this was made we were probably in a similar situation. I’ve often longed for a chance to see my American ex again and I can imagine seeing her randomly at an airport would end up much the same as it does in the film.
There’s an awkward familiarity between them both, and while they’ve changed in their time apart they rekindle their attraction and start to rediscover each other, and slowly become the people they used to be once again. The leads have good chemistry and there’s some humourous moments with background characters. Another thing seems to be written for me is that Hank Williams is referenced a few times.
So in some ways this might be an odd review because the film mirrors certain aspects of my life so much that it’s difficult for me to see it from the perspective of someone who hasn’t been through the same things I have. I will say that there’s a part of the plot that revolves around a lie that I didn’t like, and I don’t think the film makes good use of Dublin as a character. I didn’t feel much of a sense of exploration and the city didn’t feel like it played as big a part in the film as cities do in some other ‘lets wander around the city all night’ films.
But if you like romance and you like the idea of lovers meeting after some time apart then this is a good film to watch. I think it gets better as it moves along, and the couple feel like they’re real rather than some manufactured Hollywood couple.
