Daily life is not sexy or romantic. It's about going to work, cleaning the kitty litter, going to the dentist, paying bills, and using the bathroom multiple times.
But dates and affairs are sexy. So naturally, marriage can get stale, while the memory of, or anticipation of an affair never fails to tantalize. But the irony is that if you were to commit to the person you are dating or having an affair with, they too would become overly familiar in time, and thus stale.
On another note, have you ever wondered whether people who are considered extremely attractive on film, would still be considered that way, if they were an accountant or a delivery driver? Keira Knightley is built like a 13 year old boy and heavily made up, yet she is considered one of the most attractive actresses in the world. We see her taking her pants on and off a couple time, and I guess we are supposed to be mesmerized by that. Creepy.
Back to the movie. These people have no children, never mention church or patriotism, nor volunteer work. In fact one guy even says straight out that he never wanted children, and one lady said she never cheated on anyone, but not because of morality. The guy who never wanted kids says about marriage, "F-ck the vows." Meanwhile the French guy just wants to bed his ex, while knowing that she is married and that he has a girlfriend back home.
These are not sympathetic characters. We see nothing about the married couple that would indicated they even have warm feelings for one another. Hollywood people write about their own kind. But do those of us in Middle America or "middle" elsewhere necessarily relate?
i keep thinking of Hugh Grant. He plays flawed characters, but he always seems to infuse them with a certain tenderness and vulnerability, that makes you care about him. I needed someone to root for here.
Having said all that, given who and what this was, it was done well. The dialog was realistic and the performance were just the right amount of understated. I don't remember the music, so it must have blended in naturally. I don't like relationship pictures that have a long musical interlude using some popular, overly familiar soundtrack.
Another reviewer mentioned that the broken up couple were both writers and slaves to romanticism. That's a good point. Also, opposites attract. Those two were too similar. You don't want to be in a two-writer relationship.
Pacing was fine. I don't think they made the best of the New York setting, but maybe they didn't want the city to be one of the characters. This is mostly about people, (in this case shallow, self-indulgent ones), and the things that they say and do related to coupling. It's no surprise that it didn't make money. It was lacking soul.
But dates and affairs are sexy. So naturally, marriage can get stale, while the memory of, or anticipation of an affair never fails to tantalize. But the irony is that if you were to commit to the person you are dating or having an affair with, they too would become overly familiar in time, and thus stale.
On another note, have you ever wondered whether people who are considered extremely attractive on film, would still be considered that way, if they were an accountant or a delivery driver? Keira Knightley is built like a 13 year old boy and heavily made up, yet she is considered one of the most attractive actresses in the world. We see her taking her pants on and off a couple time, and I guess we are supposed to be mesmerized by that. Creepy.
Back to the movie. These people have no children, never mention church or patriotism, nor volunteer work. In fact one guy even says straight out that he never wanted children, and one lady said she never cheated on anyone, but not because of morality. The guy who never wanted kids says about marriage, "F-ck the vows." Meanwhile the French guy just wants to bed his ex, while knowing that she is married and that he has a girlfriend back home.
These are not sympathetic characters. We see nothing about the married couple that would indicated they even have warm feelings for one another. Hollywood people write about their own kind. But do those of us in Middle America or "middle" elsewhere necessarily relate?
i keep thinking of Hugh Grant. He plays flawed characters, but he always seems to infuse them with a certain tenderness and vulnerability, that makes you care about him. I needed someone to root for here.
Having said all that, given who and what this was, it was done well. The dialog was realistic and the performance were just the right amount of understated. I don't remember the music, so it must have blended in naturally. I don't like relationship pictures that have a long musical interlude using some popular, overly familiar soundtrack.
Another reviewer mentioned that the broken up couple were both writers and slaves to romanticism. That's a good point. Also, opposites attract. Those two were too similar. You don't want to be in a two-writer relationship.
Pacing was fine. I don't think they made the best of the New York setting, but maybe they didn't want the city to be one of the characters. This is mostly about people, (in this case shallow, self-indulgent ones), and the things that they say and do related to coupling. It's no surprise that it didn't make money. It was lacking soul.