Alex & Eve

The premise had potential but falls flat in numerous areas: 1. Characters felt like stereotyped cardboard cut outs. At times I could almost hear an Aussie accent coming out of the Greek dad who was perhaps putting on a stereotypical Greek accent 2. The 'love' between Alex & Eve was not believable. How did they get from meeting at a bar to deciding they wanted to spend their lives together?

3. The stereotypes of the 2 cultures were surface level and did not reveal any deeper truths about the families/cultures/religion. It was a missed opportunity to break stereotypes and help viewers from other cultures and religious backgrounds to understand the values and struggles of these 2 particular groups.

Take time to allow this feature to develop it's characters and you will become enthusiastic about this happy tale of conflicting cultures in modern day Sydney Australia. Once you have done this you will find yourself rooting for the two main characters of this piece.

The leads are very good in their portrayals of young first generation Australians from different religious backgrounds. Both have adjusted to their lives in modern Australian society whilst respecting their families cultures. This is at opposites to their families who may remain closer to the cultures of the 'old countries '. I say 'may' as their are a few surprises in this regard.

Supporting cast are also very good. Their faces are well known to Australian viewers from their extensive portfolio's in many many local productions of the past decades.

No one character steals this movie. No matter how large or small the character may be, each contributes to the overall success of this tale of 'Love conquers All in the End '.

The camera makes good use of light and openness, confined and darkened spaces, to help create the prevailing mood at various times during the production.

The director has brought out splendid performances from all characters.

Watch this movie through and you will be left with a good feeling inside. In fact, you'll want to see it again. I thoroughly recommend this feature to all.

I thought this was a pretty good film. It is quite funny in parts, and heartwarming as well, and well, romantic.

The only people not liking it here seem to be fundamentalists who are an every decreasing minority within Islam. E.G. reviewer "mohamedgamal-07660", who my guess is not in Australia, Canada or the US. Most third generation Muslims do not marry other Muslims. ESPECIALLY educated women are least likely to marry another Muslim. A huge portion of second generation (children of immigrants) do not as well. I am tying to figure out if this upsets the reviewer and what business it is of his anyway? How dare he call it an "insult to Islam" as if he is the arbiter of what Islam is or is not.

If you know anything about the region where these people come from , with its may places, eg, Alexandria, Beirut, Istanbul, etc that for hundreds and hundreds of years had people living together and often intermarrying. These places only recently became mono-cultural, and that is artificial.

Quite enjoyed it - nice characters, clichée, but very relatable.

The ones that gave bad reviews are fundamentlust, coz she should have married as her family whishes.

With 'Unindian', 'Learning to Drive' and now 'Alex & Eve' all receiving big screen releases in October in Australia at one time; the themes of love and unity in spite of cultural differences are being substantially explored. The American indie 'Learning to Drive' is about when opposites collide; whilst the other two Australian productions are love stories bringing two very different cultures together and finding hope and unity in often comical situations.

'Alex and Eve' is a really delightful film and a solid 8 out of 10 from me. It is a little less broad than 'Unindian', but still has its laughs from some obvious stereotypes and scenarios. Adapting his own play, Alex Lykos successfully brings his group of characters into urban settings and locations and seasoned director Peter Andrikidis, an award winner in television dramas, has extracted fine performances from a large and diverse cast. For me the star of the picture is the luminous Andrea Demetriades. I'd only seen her work on 'Janet King' a television legal drama, and instantly fell in love with her in this role. The actress has created a fully fleshed and believable character; giving her enough flaws but strengths to want an audience to barrack for her. Her co-lead Richard Brancatisano has a heroic journey to undertake here, and he performs the comic shtick as well as the gravitas required. This is often a laugh out loud comedy, as the larger than life supporting characters give the film heart as well as edge. I was particularly impressed with Tony Nikolakopoulos as the young man's father, and Zoe Carides, a veteran of stage and screen as his mostly even tempered wife.

My only criticisms are located in the teaching sequences and some of the dialogue and direction of the young cast playing the students. It defied plausibility for me, but there was so much else to embrace in this movie that it didn't detract too much. It is heartening to see so many movies and TV shows now dealing with multi cultural communities and in particular here, romance and love between people from different backgrounds. I enjoyed 'Alex & Eve' more than 'Unindian' (Brett Lee's leading role) as it felt weightier and with more comedic touches that hit the mark. I hope it finds an audience, and I know that for Andrea Demetriades it will be the first of many leading roles on screen. This is a well made, thoughtful and enjoyable movie.