Newness

I must say the movie is pretty good to watch, do not be put off by the negative reviews. It depends what you expect, the pace of the story matches its plot, acting and dialogues are good, not that special, but it conveys the idea that the movie is about pretty well. There is no answer today which one is better, a committed serious relationship, or an open exciting yet not complete one. See the movie to find what they had to say, you would like it.

I almost made the mistake of switching the movie off 15 minutes in. Thankfully I didn't. Laia Costa in a very emotional scene captivated me as she did for the whole movie and the story finally really began. Even though we get obvious unsubtle punches against facebook and tinder it is not really about these technologies because they are just that. They don't force us to do anything. It is about generation "swipe left if you are bored". It is about running away from conflict thus running away from real relationships. Relationships are messy. They always have been always will be. But what makes them deep the work you put in. The best quote of the movie nails it: "love is two people not giving up on each other" as I didn't give up on this movie 15 minutes in being rewarded at the end.

This film tells the story of a man and a woman, who use dating apps to meet others for fun with no strings attached.

That's the first ten minutes of the plot anyway. It appears that they constantly want newness in their love and sex lives. Yet, the story soon develops to another direction. It is clear that one of them is stuck in the past, while the other wants something but would not admit it. It is a brilliant portrayal of modern relationships. It even explores honesty to self and others. In addition, the lighting and the sets are consistently remarkable. Though the film is a little slow at times, it is still worth a watch.

Nicholas Hoult and Laia Costa are very attractive young people compulsively using a dating app and having several minute stands. They match one night ... after each had already had a previously unsuccessful hook-up ... and meet for drinks, but hit it off so well that they don't just immediately have sex. Soon they are in a committed relationship, but familiarity creeps in and they conveniently cheat on each other on the same night. They realize that while they really do love each other, they are also really drawn to the rush of new relationships, so they decide to try an open relationship. Each is allowed to pursue other people as long as they are completely honest with each other?

So ... do you think that works out well for them?

This movie has some things going for it. Hoult and Costa are really quite good ... Costa especially ... and neither will disappoint in the film's numerous and quite explicit sex scenes. The style, impressionistic with very close, hand-held jittery cam, makes the early sequences pretty exciting, and the film goes quite some way towards recreating the rush of physical attraction and first love.

This relationship is not very interesting though. The really quite charming actors are not given characters that ever have much of interest to say, so it's tough to invest much in their relationship. Once the open relationship starts going south and Danny Huston enters the film, you're almost routing for the Huston/Costa pairing to prevail since he's actually given decent things to say. The film reaches a conclusion, but it's not a very compelling one since you don't really care about this couple and the issues that drove them into an open relationship are never really resolved anyway.

Movies like these don't come along very often. This is my third Doremus film (after Like Crazy and Equals) and while Equals probably remains on the top of my list, Newness comes in at a close second. Newness explores the dangers and thrills of online dating in an urban world, where distractions are easily found and easier to be pursued. In the midst of it all, Martin and Gabriela are trying to find their way as a couple. The movie's appeal comes from its splendid directing and cinematography, which was already outstanding in Equals. The wash of hues, the angles, everything fits like a glove and helps underline the vivid and thrilling nature of the movie's theme. It feels organic, authentic and vigorous, not least due to the unadulterated performances of its main cast - Nicholas Hoult and Laia Costa (who was already brilliant in Vicotria) have chemistry coming up the wazoo, it's almost ridiculous. This movie took me on an emotional roller coaster; it's definitely not for everyone. And it's not a perfect movie by any means. Watching this movie simply felt a bit like falling in love, which - in my book - always seems like a good thing.