You Instead

For anyone who loves music and music festivals this film is a treat. It's a great premise; make a film about a love story during a actual huge outdoor music festival. You have to keep in mind that the logistics of doing this had to have been a b**ch. This is not a cult film, or a classic, or a carefully crafted under control movie. It is what it is: a simple rock and roll fantasy, probably sketched out in general and then written as filming progressed to take advantage of what was going on at the event. I applaud the filmmakers for having the b*lls to attempt this, and then coming away with a sweet story with fun characters and a good feel of the festival spirit.

Thank heavens for "Tonight You're Mine" (or its original title in the U.K.: "You Instead"), a movie that manages to exceed my expectations for a story like this. Undeniably sweet, magical and occasionally funny at times, this rock and roll gem will surprise you from start to finish. It's also the kind of movie you can watch on a rainy day and you can still have a good time. Luke Treadaway from the "Clash of the Titans" remake and "Attack the Block" stars as Adam, one-half of the American rock band "The Make". His day is not starting to go well. He's supposed to perform at the "T in the Park" music festival in Scotland. While that happens, he happens to be handcuffed, thanks to a scheming minister, with Morello (Natalia Tena, Nymphadora Tonks from the "Harry Potter" film series), the band leader for the British female rock group "The Dirty Pinks", (who also have to perform at the festival) after some bitter arguments. All of this takes place at that festival and throughout the movie, Adam and Morello has to find a way to break out of those cuffs, play their gigs, and---possibly---make a magical connection that might find themselves in love. I know you think that this is another one of those groan-inducing rom-coms, but trust me, this is much different than that. Clocking in a rather fast time of 80 minutes, "Tonight You're Mine" has a heart that pulsates with energy and a soul that rollicks with a staggering sweetness. It's hard to believe that Treadaway (with a very solid American accent) and Tena are very talented (Singing and playing guitar/keyboard) on- and off-screen. But they are and they accomplished that in spades. Their chemistry together is incredible. The music in the film is amazing. It's like listening to a mix tape that you made before, but never listened to it until now and it happens to be a very eclectic mix tape filled with many different sounds. (One of the standouts of that mix tape is Adam and Morello performing "Tainted Love" on stage.) I give director David Mackenzie (of the sexually charged "Young Adam", the Ashton Kutcher disaster "Spread", and the mind-boggling "Perfect Sense") credit for taking us inside the actual "T in the Park" festival. It must have been very difficult to shoot in the festival for 4-5 days, bringing a lot of pressure on the actors. But it feels very authentic, real and organic. What also works is that Mackenzie and screenwriter Thomas Leveritt gives the characters a lot of humanity, including Adam's model girlfriend (Ruta Gedmintas), Morello's on-again, off-again boyfriend (Alastair Mackenzie, the director's brother), Adam's other half Tyko (Mathew Baynton) and the sleazy manager (Gavin Mitchell), who nearly hits on women when he's drunk. Yes, there are no surprises. But there's nothing to be surprised about anyway, except for a couple of them. That's why "Tonight You're Mine" is really magical in many ways possible. You won't be disappointed. Give this film a go.

Absolute best thing about this film is an introduction to Natalia Tena.. binged.it/1nPSBSU .. Go on youtube and look her up along with the group Molotov Jukebox. They have several fun videos, with a pretty good sound.. bit.ly/10YlzOk .. The film Tonight You're Mine is fairly standard stuff, but it did give a good feel of what it is like to be young and attend an all-out, in-the-mud music festival. And the worst thing about this flick is the choice of the last song... it should have been something totally special... instead it just kinda leaves things out-a-sync. Captions would have helped with lots of the inaudible dialogue... (hey... netflix listened!!).

It must have been an absolute nightmare to try to shoot a watchable film at a wet festival over one weekend. There's the odd really lovely piece of camera-work tucked away in here and the whole thing beautifully captures the festival experience with a surprisingly unobtrusive but mesmerizing music score. Great to see a cast of more or less unknowns, putting to shame bigger names and far bigger budgets. Not every film has to shock or nudge the audience into exploring some hidden dark side of themselves. Sometimes films are there just to record the lighter side of life, and this is one of them. A pleasant stroll through T in the Park ..... nothing wrong with that.

In Scotland, the successful American band The Make formed by the singer Adam (Luke Treadaway) and the keyboard player Tyko (Matthew Baynton) will participate at T in the Park Festival. When they meet the girls from the band The Dirty Pinks, Adam has an argument with the lead singer Morello (Natalia Tena). A preacher separates them and asks the two bands to pray together. Out of the blue, he handcuffs Adam and Morello and leaves the place in a golf cart. When The Dirty Pinks have to perform, Adam participates with the group and their show is a success. They are forced to spend the night together and his girlfriend Lake (Ruta Gedmintas) and her boyfriend Mark (Alastair Mackenzie) stay with them. But soon they feel that Adam and Morello are connected not only by the handcuffs.

"You Instead" is a delightful rock 'n' roll romance highly indicated for fans of music. The story has nice characters; a lead couple with perfect chemistry; and was filmed at the 2010 T in the Park Festival. Therefore the film entwines a real festival with adorable characters and people interacting with the cast. Luke and Natalia have musical experience and have composed two songs. In the end, "You Instead" is a predictable film that the viewer wishes that could have bis. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Essa Noite Você é Minha" ("This Night You Are Mine")

Note: On 20 July 2016, I saw this film again.