The Way You Look Tonight

I caught this at a film festival and am so excited that it's finally available to the general public. In addition to a well thought-out story, its an impressive acting feat from the members of the cast who were able to so convincingly play the same character. The leading actor did a fantastic job of maintaining chemistry with the rest of the cast. It was at times funny, heartbreaking, and moving. Highly recommend.

This film has a bit of a slow-burn start - there's a meet-cute at the top and everything is going well for our lead, but then the girl he was connecting so well with disappears the next day. What follows is a bit unconventional - there's a bit of a mystery element as Peter goes on a new dating site and keeps finding women who are acting strangely towards him and wearing very similar clothing - and there's hinting of a connection to that first girl, but the "twist" comes in about a third into the movie. It's hard to talk about what makes this movie cool without ruining the surprise - but I think the slow burn mystery, while a little cumbersome at times, is worth sticking out. I'll just say there is a bit of a fantasy component that comes in, which is used in some interesting ways to talk about issues of identity and gender and a lot of other things. Overall, I think this is a smartly executed film that demands more from you that the typical rom com.

It is really hard to find new ideas for movie authors and especially to bring the ideas to life. This movie made it happen. Sweet and funny way to make us think about relationships and that our beauty is on the inside.

The idea is interesting, and the first 30 minutes or so are intriguing as you start to understand what's happening. But then the movie veers off into "A Very Special Episode" territory, laying on the morality and social criticism one trowel-full after another.

Maybe this sort of extremely obvious analogizing works with the 20-something crowd, but I'm old enough that I'd prefer some subtlety or, hell, even better, how about keep the interesting parts of the story and try to make a movie that isn't lazy social awareness?

I nearly gave up on this film in the first half hour, but lead actor Nick Fink kept me interested. For a newcomer, he has immense chemistry with the camera and believable delivery.

The script is flawed in that it has natural humor, but has a sitcom smirk. The two go together like honey and motor oil. All of the bones are here for a spectacular TV series, if handled mindfully and steered away from gags.

The parallels with people in so many life situations who do not conform to expectations is right there. Examine the human experience in those varying situations and the scripts write themselves.

This was a valiant effort and there are some promising talents in the extensive cast.

Production note: this is a film where photos with the names in the end credits seem crucial.