Comet

A uniquely presented, hypo-manic love story with intriguing truisms and insights throughout, that is both entertaining and thought provoking. The constant patter, chemistry and performances of the leads literally is the story. Practically no other characters intrude, and none distract. The production and direction fit perfectly and the editing effectively supports the jumps backward and forward in time.

Having said all that, what impressed me the most was the acting. Over the past couple of years I've become interested in the differences between good and bad acting and actors. While both actors were very good here, I found Emily Rossum's performance to be stunning. She made her character so real that I forgot it wasn't, yet it also popped. That's a mark of excellence I've sought. I've read review after review of other performances claiming that various actors disappeared into their characters, but rarely found that to be true. I usually know the actor is doing the work, and hardly ever forget it. Emily actually does completely disappear into her role here. It makes me regret not watching Shameless all these years.

These are three words I feel describes the features of this movie. This first feature film from Sam Esmail truly takes its viewer to the different phases of a normal relationship in the most unusual way.

This movie might be confusing at a times and the parallel universe thing sometimes adds to this confusion. But I think all this confusion adds to the beauty of this movie, making it more interesting. There are some scenes in this movie when director wants its user to interpret the moment in their own way and stick to it. I think if you stick to what you interpret from particular moment , the movie will become much more simpler to watch.

The cast Justin Long and Emmy Rossum did a fine job and the chemistry between them truly works its way to the audience. The natural flow of conversation between Justin and Emmy was one of the high point of that chemistry in my view.

But most of all I was impressed by work from Director "Sam Esmail". It doesn't seems to be a first feature film from him. The way the story unfolds in the movie is unique, though some may argue over the originality.The movie keeps me engaged throughout, in fact this was one of the movie I wasn't bored watching it for second time. This film was also the first feature film project for most of the crew members in areas like cinematography , art direction , film editing from what I see. Which is truly remarkable. Before winding this up, I would like to mention the awesome soundtrack of the movie, which I'm desperately looking forward to its official release.

This is definitely one of the best indie movie I've seen this year.

*************8/10******************

It is difficult for me to form words after seeing this movie. I'm sitting here at my desk trying to gather my thoughts to string together logical sentences but I have become overwhelmed with emotion.

For now let's talk technicalities. The acting, directing, cinematography and lighting, editing, and soundtrack are gorgeous. The film is aesthetically beautiful to look at and listen to, so much so that it almost hurts.

But the real star is Sam Esmail's (USA's Mr. Robot show-runner) writing. This is where I'm having difficulty expressing my general thoughts. This IS NOT a film for everyone; and that's what makes it so unbelievably special. The characters are beautifully painted and feel fresh and new, which is something I can't say often. The screenplay is so incredibly touching that it often felt like a transcending experience; something more than just a film.

If you are a fan of deeply challenging films (i.e. Mr Nobody) then this is an absolute must see. If your a film student, this is a must see. If you are a lover of cinema in general, this is a must see.

The film is on Netflix and it's only an hour and a half in length making for an extremely easy watch. Please support this film. It's such a rarity that we see such beauty in a film released in 2014.

This film is about the relationship of Dell and Kimberly, a young couple from Los Angeles. "Comet" follows their six year love affair in good times and in bad, with random scenes of private conversations set in various locales. The main pride of this project is its insightful and witty script brought to life by two sensitive actors.

The script is written by director Sam Esmail. It is amazing as a debut script for a debut film. His ambition seemed modest, but the final product can be enchanting. The script was full of memorable quotable quotes and eloquently-worded sentiments throughout its 90 minute running time, like the following:

"He called himself a Bob Dylan song and proceeded to call me a Britney Spears song. I don't know what it means, but it sounds insulting." "You're a now person. I'm a 5-minutes from now person." "You said you believe in love. I don't. So let's put it to a test. Date each other, me and you, In a relationship. Let's do it." "I don't belong in a world where we don't end up together." "I never thought love was real, now I think life isn't real without it."

Justin Long and Emmy Rossum have excellent chemistry together. That is one big reason this film worked, despite feeling pretentious at first. Those long conversations may seem like senseless 'flights of ideas" on paper, but these two actors make these lines believable and real. Glib Long plays Dell consistently throughout, the hip, pothead narcissist that his character was, around whose point of view the story is told. Beautiful Rossum plays his dream girl Kimberly going through a whole range of emotions like she was being two different women as she falls in and out of love with Dell.

Of course, we have already seen many movies like this. The "Before" series by Richard Linklater immediately come to mind. But instead of a continuous straightforward narrative, "Comet" breaks up the scenes into seemingly random order. This gives the film a more cosmic air that it aspires for. The gauzy, filtered photography and innovative camera angles also contribute to the dreamy effect. That final scene, a minute of silence as two suns rise over the horizon, packed such an emotional wallop.

This film is not literal. It leaves the audience to decide what the film means to them as individuals. You decide which was reality and which were dreams among the various events that flash before you on screen. Dell was telling himself (and us) from the very beginning, "This is not a dream". But is it, or isn't it? Now I think I want to watch it again. 7/10.

Hollywood movies rarely move me as the formula used is predictable, with most endings being predictable shortly into the film. If you are looking for the Americana white picket fence house in the suburbs, two kids and a dog relationship this is not for you. Comet is a statement on love between two people looking for love who have the unsocial ability to speak their mind, the truth. Truth hurts, and without the "skills" to cushion their raw feelings they do hurt each other. Its a beautiful refreshing approach to viewing a relationship, magically crafted by the filmmakers by interweaving the 6 year timeline of their relationship leading up to the final scenes. A film to show this narrative needed two actors who could bring the characters to life and make you believe, outstandingly accomplished by Justin Long and Emmy Rossum. Please realize most of this entire film is carried by these two actors, the supporting cast is small but excellent, the cinematography is captivatingly beautiful, and the musical score integrated perfectly, adding up to a great movie experience. I gave this film a 10, which I never do, to counterbalance the rating of people who obviously did not take the time to take this journey. Don't missed out on relating a few stokes of your life's colour brush to this painting..