Login
Now, this is my kind of movie. :) Alex Holdridge's In Search of a Midnight Kiss is simply a wonderful film. It's an exploration of the subject of love and relationships that avoids all sense of corniness and romcom cliches. It is an incredibly authentic film, yet its excellent mirroring of reality never renders it boring, and it never keeps the audience from being able to connect with the characters or from becoming emotionally affected by the things that befall both of them. In the non-cinematic, real world, men usually try as hard as they can to avoid crying, in order to continue ostensibly fulfilling their role as the "stronger" sex, so it's not a surprise that, in its attempt to imitate life, the film medium rarely depicts men crying, even in the case of movies that cover a similar subject matter as that of In Search of a Midnight Kiss (seriously, do we see men crying much in romantic dramas/comedies? Not at all.) Thankfully, the makers of In Search of a Midnight Kiss and actor Scoot McNairy aren't afraid to display the inevitable reality that males actually CAN break down, and this gives way for a scene towards the climax that is incredibly moving and devastating at the same time. If the film hadn't totally won me over by that point, it certainly did then.
I was wondering whether or not the use of black-and-white would be detrimental, but it isn't at all. I'm not sure why, but oddly enough, I think it's really effective here. As many have pointed out, it makes the LA locations not feel conventional or like things we've seen in dozens upon dozens of prior films, and that is very helpful in making this film feel fresh and interesting. One of the things that a lot of romantic dramas/comedies have trouble with is having the "Meet Cute" (when the two leads first see each other) unfold believably, and this film has a tough task with its "Meet Cute" because Wilson (Mcnairy) and Vivian (Sara Simmonds) talk over the phone and then meet in person, meaning it's a sort-of blind date (even though Vivian was able to see a photo of Wilson on his ad). The awkward moment in which Wilson sits for a while at a different table across from Vivian is handled very nicely and the comedic timing is perfect. When we first meet her, Vivian is wearing sunglasses and she comes across as being somewhat cold, but all of that is nothing but concealing much of what we'll find out later as she warms up to Wilson and begins to confide in him. McNairy and Simmonds give amazing lead performances, and there isn't a moment of the romance between Wilson and Vivian that lacks poignancy.
Earlier this year, many believed that Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist was a decent homage to the masterful Before Sunrise, and I couldn't disagree more with that. And while In Search of a Midnight Kiss isn't the breathtaking, perfect and unbelievably amazing work of art that Before Sunrise is, it's certainly worthy of at least being compared to it. I had high hopes for Nick & Norah, which turned out to be nothing but a mostly gross comedy that was completely lacking in edge and was saved from being totally bad only by the charm of its two leads. On the other hand, In Search of a Midnight Kiss is an often hilarious film, deeply observant of human behavior, and accurate in terms of how people actually communicate with one another and of their apprehensions towards expressing certain things. It has all of the edge that Nick & Norah lacked, and then some. The dialogue here between Wilson and Vivian isn't as insightful as that between Jessie and Celine in Before Sunrise, but that's only because the script of In Search of a Midnight Kiss isn't as interested in the philosophical questions that were discussed by the characters in the earlier film (played by Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy). This makes Holdridge's film fall short of being the masterpiece that Before Sunrise was, but it certainly doesn't keep it from being one of the best films of 2008. This is an incredibly well-crafted and deeply emotionally-satisfying motion picture.
8/10
