Romantic Film review - Her

So if I told you a man I knew had fallen in love with his computer, you would say that was batty right?
But, what if I told you a man fell in love with someone on facebook, whom he had never met and who, he felt so connected to, he'd rather commit to her on line than be single, even though he had never slept with her - or even kissed her.
Suddenly the story sounds really familiar, and something not too far away from what we know is possible in this day and age.
Enter the world of Her, the film where a man falls in love with is operating system.

Her isn't nearly as silly as it sounds, and in fact ends up being quite an interesting meditation on the complicated alienation one feels in life and even in relationship. Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix - am I the only one who thinks he is gorgeous?) is a lonely man who works as a writer compiling heartfelt letters to loved ones for those incapable or unwilling to write the letter themselves. He is good at his job because he is able to immerse himself in the emotional shoes of the people he writes for. In some cases, he has been writing the love letters between two people for their entire married life.

Theodore is unhappy about his impending divorce from his wife Catherine (Roony Mara) a woman who accused him of being cold and never really letting her get close to him. To cheer himself up, he buys an operating system for his computer that is designed to grow and evolve as it works. When he sets it up, he names it Samantha (Scarlett Johansson) and soon the operating system starts to evolve as a female perfectly matched to him on the sole basis of the way he answers the question "Do you like your mother?" Soon, Samantha and Theo discover that they are attracted to each other and start to fall in love. Initially Theo responds with the cool distance Catherine accused him of, but soon he finds that he feels more comfort in relationship with an OS, possibly because it embraces the distance he needs for his safe sort of intimacy.

Her is an interesting sort of love story, but if your partner keeps complaining about the endless DVD's of Titanic, Pretty Woman and Sleepless in Seattle, then this may be the quirky sort of love story that keeps a couple in perfect harmony through the night.

Romantic Film Review - Ghost

It is one of the most romantic films ever, one we all love, or love to hate. Personally, being a bit of a Demi Moore fan, I love to love Ghost, and still manage to make my way back to it fairly regularly - my favorite things about Ghost is Demi, even if what she mostly does is her famous one tear cry. I think it is her most gentle film, and although I love her for her 'tough girl' attitude, she really proves in Ghost that she has the chops to pull the classic female lead out of the bag when the need arises.

For the three people out there who haven't seen Ghost, here is the premise:

Sam Wheat (Partick Swayze) a banker and Molly Jensen (Demi Moore) an artist, are a loving couple who have decided to take the plunge and move in together. True to classic late 80's Hollywood style, they can afford an enormous refurbished converted warehouse, that still looks amazing in a viewing today. 

The couple are obviously deeply in love, however despite this, Sam still has trouble telling the gorgeous Molly that he loves her. 

 At work, Sam discovers a major discrepancy in multiple bank accounts and confides in his good friend and colleague Carl Bruner (Tony Goldwyn). Carl offers to investigate the matter, but Sam decides to investigate himself. Later that night, Sam and Molly are attacked by armed thug Willie Lopez (Rick Aviles) and Sam is killed by a gunshot during a struggle with Willie. Sam's ghost arises from his dead body, which lies next to the distraught Molly. He gradually realizes that he is a ghost whose presence cannot be seen or heard.

It doesn't take Sam long to work out that his death wasn't an accident and that he was in fact murdered. As he starts to place all the pieces next to each other, he realizes that Molly is still being followed by the people who killed him. In order to try to get some crucial information to her, he befriends a spiritual medium, Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg), who is really a cheat to speak to Molly on his behalf, as she is the only one who can hear him. Now that Oda Mae can hear Sam, she is perpetually haunted by many ghosts trying to get messages back to their loved ones, inadvertently making her a genuine spiritual medium. 

That's enough there - I don't want to spoil the rest of it for (as I said above) the three people in the world who haven't seen Ghost. It is enough to say that the interactions between Woopi Goldberg and Patrick Swayze are very funny, and they bring a comic element to the film that is needed to lift it from the rather depressing premise. Because we know Sam is dead, we know he will have to leave Molly eventually. 

If you're looking for something fun to do on date night, or you need a nostalgic weepy to help you get over a breakup, Ghost is your film. In terms of film making, It's not a terrible brilliant film, but it is a great love story, and you will be in the mood to connect with your lover when it's over. 

Romantic Film Review - Le Weekend

Le Weekend is a little serious at times, and definitely for the older marrieds, if you are looking for some romance. Not that it isn't romantic for those under fifty-five, its just that it deals with some rather heavy conceptual relationship issues that may be relevant and important when you are nearing retirement, but just end up being a great big downer if you are at an earlier stage in life. its a very beautiful film, beautifully written, acted and filmed, and set in Paris which is always pleasant and evocative. 

Nick (Jim Broadbent) and Meg (Lindsay Duncan) Burroughs are in Paris for a weekend that we get the feeling he has arranged and she as reluctantly agreed to attend, that may be an attempt at recreating the couples honeymoon, or at least a far more successful trip from many years earlier. They bicker and they laugh and get on well and drive each other nuts as one would expect from a couple who have spent a lifetime together. 

But soon cracks start to appear in the relationship. Nick has lost his job and is worried about money and their kids, they reluctantly confess, are no-hopers. They scamp around Paris reminiscing on their lost youth and lamenting problems in their relationship: his, their lack of physical intimacy, hers their brooding existence that goes no where and does nothing. Slowly, as the weekend grinds on, these issues come to a head and the couple are forced to face they are officially in a crises. 

Le Weekend does have a happy ending, I'll toss that in not so that its a spoiler, but so you know why I have included in my romantic film reviews, and as I said above, I can imagine it being very appealing to an older couple, because it is frank and honest about a certain age and a certain lifestyle. the best part, besides seeing the older couple fall madly in love again, is watching them romp around Paris and the final montage where they dance the same dance scene taken from the 1960's Godard film Bande Apart, the dance scene that inspired Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction dance scene. the images of Paris are very romantic and I can see an older couple watching this film together, and then having a bottle of wine and chatting deep into the night about the issues raised. 

Romance isn't only for the young, and its always a welcome thing to see a very romantic film place itself in the essence of the concerns of a different generation. this is a great romantic comedy, if you don't mind a good square meal before you get to your sugary dessert.