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It was a sweet film!

As with all the days so far, this one too came with it's own sweet surprise towards the evening. My friend called up and asked me if I wanted to watch a film. And I, who had not showered until that point in the night and had lounged around in paint-splattered pajamas all day, said yes. I had a bath and combed my hair and wore a really pretty red top and a brown skirt and smeared lip tint and got ready to go to the movies!

I love, love, love movie outings! Downloading and watching films at home is not my thing. I'll always clean up before going for a film whether I'm with someone or not. I've watched plenty of movies alone - after a really hard day at work...but I'll still wash my face and comb my hair and get my coffee all excitedly when I enter the cinema. I think I can only be really truly close to people who watch movies in cinema halls. I feel we are comrades in magic.

Anyway, we went for this film 'How to be single'. It started out with the stock of cliches (aerial view of New York City, girls in short, sequinned clothes downing tequila shots, casanova bartenders, etc.) But I started getting interested in the characters a few scenes into the film. The music is really nice as are the lovely shots of a girl's apartment. Also, there are lots of shots of people having casual sex. But I loved the lighting of those scenes. Very mellow, yelllow-orange-pink light that coats over the bare shoulders and necks and finger-tips. I really liked that. I have never understood why scenes of casual hook-ups always have to be grunts, grinds, and lots of darkness and hard shadows. Two people could still find this spontaneous intimacy very poetic, right? Just because it's not riding on some long tail of love or commitment doesn't mean it can't be sweet.

I missed New York then. I'd celebrated my birthday there once - Manhatan. It was so lovely!

Overall, I liked the film. But I think I'll like anything I watch in a movie hall. I may be disappointed if it's a really bad film but I'll still find some scenes to take away.

There are four girls in the movie and their lives intersect each others in some way or the other. One of them is really not okay with being single. Another one is slightly brittle and needs to be considered independent and capable at all times. The third one is having a party and is really very clear about not wanting commitments. The fourth one, the protagonist so to speak, wants to be single because she's never had that experience but she doesn't know how to go about it without panicking. They all find their way.




Comments

Anonymous said…
On Valentine’s Day 2016 do yourself a favor and rent something made with a soul rather than the ugliness and creative bankruptcy that is How to Be Single. -James Berardinelli

http://www.reelviews.net/reelviews/how-to-be-single
2:03 PM
Mukta Raut said…
what would you recommend?
1:32 AM
Anonymous said…
This film becomes more natural in its later stages, as the actors do less bubbling and ease into their roles. Even so, "Before Sunrise" is as uneven as any marathon conversation might be, combining colorful, disarming insights with periodic lulls. The film maker clearly wants things this way, with both these young characters trying on ideas and attitudes as if they were new clothes. -JANET MASLIN(New York Times,January 27, 1995)

Before Sunrise(1995)
Director: Richard Linklater
Screenplay: Richard Linklater and Kim Krizan
8:34 PM
Mukta Raut said…
ah! yes, I have heard a lot about Before Sunrise and it's sequel. Will try to catch it soon. Thanks for the recommendation!
8:50 PM
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