Writer: Merland Hoxha (Screenplay)
Starring: Jon Briddell, Kendall Chappell, Olivia Lemmon, Austin Lauer, Grant Wright Gunderson
Plot: Before leaving Los Angeles to start a new job in New York, Nate, with the help of his best friend John, devises a wicked plan to test his girlfriend’s loyalty.
Runtime: 1 Hour 10 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Interesting Relationship Drama
Story: The Departure starts as John (Lauer) finds himself in the middle of an awkward date with Amber (Lemmon), which is filled with miscommunication, his best friend Nate (Gunderson) is offered a management promotion across the country, just after he has arranged to move in with his girlfriend Jessica (Chappell).
Before going to New York, Nate turns to John to see just how loyal Jessica is, asking him to try and seduce him, which only leads to the relationship being tested.
Thoughts on The Departure
Characters – Nate is just getting ready to move in with his girlfriend when he gets pushed into taking a job in New York for six months, unsure about his girlfriends relationship with a co-worker, he pushes his best friend to try and seduce his girlfriend to prove she is loyal. Jessica is the girlfriend that is excited with the idea of moving into together, she is happy even after knowing she will have to wait 6 months for him to return. John is the best friend of Nate, he is trying to get involved with Amber, only to get pushed into trying to seduce Jessica, he reluctantly follows through, which only leads to more problems between everyone involved.
Performances – Austin Lauer, Grant Wright Gunderson and Kendall Chappell are all strong in the leading roles of the movie, they show us the difficult decision they are going through as characters.
Story – The story here follows a man that decides he would like to test his girlfriend’s loyalty before moving away, by asking his best friend to try and seduce her, only for things to get complicated between all sides involved. This is a story about trust and trying to figure out who is in the right with decisions in lives. We do see things getting complicated quickly and we are left wondering who is in the right through the whole situation. We might not get involved in everything to the levels we could, but it does show us that people can change, make mistakes and realize they are in a better position without people in their lives.
Settings – The film is in LA, which shows how the three main characters have lives that could shatter in one moment or decision.
Scene of the Movie – The final chat.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Amber doesn’t seem to get enough screen time.
Final Thoughts –This is an interesting relationship drama that shows us how loyalty can be ruined by a strange decision about loyalty.
Overall: Interesting Drama.