BEFORE: Day 3 of the Anne Hathaway Film Festival, and it looks like this one might have a structure similar to "Same Time, Next Year" - I resisted the urge to put them back-to-back in favor of the actor chain.
THE PLOT: After spending the night together on the night of their college graduation Dexter and Em are shown each year on the same date to see where they are in their lives. They are sometimes together, sometimes not, on that day.
AFTER: "Love may not make the world go round, but I admit that it makes the ride worthwhile." -- Sean Connery.
That quote just appeared in a crossword puzzle that ran last Sunday, and I think it's applicable here. When you think of how much more important it is to have a career, education, a way of procuring food on a daily basis, proper healthcare, etc., you realize that love shouldn't be the engine that drives your car. It's more like the car radio - it brings you pleasure, motivates you and takes your mind off your troubles, but without the car moving forward, it just won't work.
That's sort of what to keep in mind during this story of two people who meet in college and sort of stumble into an on-again, off-again, will-they-or-won't-they (or is it did-they-or-didn't-they?) relationship.
The camera is semi-omniscient, and decides to check in on them every July 15, regardless of their circumstance. Something always seems to be preventing them from committing fully to the relationship, whether it's work or being married to someone else, or the silly fact that they're many miles away from each other. It's not like they made a pact to always be together on July 15, so it becomes a bit of a gamble. You get the feeling that major life-changes took place when the camera wasn't looking, so that sort of calls the whole process into question. We never see how they spend Christmas, for example, or Boxing Day, or whatever weird holidays they've got in the U.K.
She becomes a Mexican restaurant waitress (they have Mexican food in the U.K.?) and also a struggling writer, and he becomes an annoying TV host (they have douchebags in the U.K.?) and then, well, I don't remember what he did after that. But they always have a few life lessons left to learn, mostly the hard way. That's got a fair amount of truthiness to it.
As you might expect, things run hot and cold (sort of like Hathaway's British accent), and many changes are in store, but it becomes sort of like an indie Brit "When Harry Met Sally" - two people who circle each other for many years and try to be best friends, with the sexual attraction being both a motivator and a hindrance at the same time.
I'd repeat some of the points I made last night, but that would spoil things. Ditto ditto. But again we're led to believe that two people's personality strengths and weakness can mesh together, after they've been through some shite and smoothed out any rough patches, maybe worked out some of their issues in other relationships. Perhaps it's so, but I'd like to see the supporting documentation.
Also starring Jim Sturgess (last seen in "The Other Boleyn Girl"), Rafe Spall (last seen in "Life of Pi"), Patricia Clarkson (last seen in "All the King's Men"), Georgia King, with a cameo from Mike Binder.
RATING: 4 out of 10 parlor games
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