Anatomy of a Love Seen

I have to say that I only watched this film because the film I intended to watch on Netflix had disappeared. and when I did start watching it, I came very close several times in the first 20 minutes to turning it off. But as it went on and I realised more what was happening it grew on me, and in the apparent messiness some very good acting and some very truthful situations emerged. It's a miniature, but a worthwhile one. It's not erotic, except maybe at the very end, but that is not the point; it's about feelings. The sub-plot of the relationship between the director and her assistant is perhaps more convincing than the main plot, and perhaps more interesting.

This movie has a great idea in that it is supposed to be about two young actresses who fall in love for real when they play as lovers in a movie.

But that is not what is advertised. Instead we are told that it is the lesbian love scene itself that actually turns them into lovers. It was why I was reluctant to go and watch. To make the most of the advertised sex scene the movie opens with the scene itself and it is on the cover and in the trailers. Yes, we are promised a hot spicy lesbian love scene that will turn two women into lovers. Two scenes even, for the movie is actually about a reshoot of the first scene. And the effect is more or less the same. You see, that is what lesbian sex does to girls. Perhaps even to straight girls? Parents protect your daughters!

What would be next is a guy who will tell them that a real guy(he himself) will turn them into straight girls again because all they need is some good straight hanky panky to make them see the error of their ways. It never hurts to have a good old straight shag to fix things.

The problem however isn't this misused promise of a lesbian sex scene, but the incredibly slow pace of the movie. You see, the two lovers had a falling out, but darn now they have to reshoot that particular scene! Drama ensues... very slowly. Very very slowly.

It could have been a great movie, but instead we get long slow scenes in which the crew is followed setting up for the scene where such things are discussed as why the wall is missing or that the movie needs to be less heavy. It was probably interesting for the movie crew to see themselves in action but I found it irrelevant for the story and boring to boot.

Even worse however is the bemoanings and recriminations of the two actresses. Like little spoiled brats they have to be talked to by the director all the time to get them to do the bleeding scene. But no, their interpersonal struggles cannot be set aside but have to be addressed and solved right there and then by the director turned relations councilor. Of course, none of the actresses ever thought of taking a friend or otherwise trusted person with them or deal with the thing in a professional or grownup manner. No, no no. We have to see this drama unfold.

If you like very slow drama that has people bemoaning their plight, this is the movie for you. If you instead had hoped to see a movie about a lesbian relation that develops with it's up and downs, as was promised, you might be disappointed by the result. It would have been great to allow people some insight and understanding of lesbians, but this isn't that movie. In fact it wouldn't have interested anyone if this love scene had been a straight one. Making a love scene lesbian does not make a movie less boring or better.

What this film does have going for it is two very pretty female leads and a quite erotic love scene between them, which also both feature prominently on the cover. The film itself breezes through this in the first five minutes. Then there's a brief montage of relationship and the viewer gets dumped in the middle of *something* going on. What follows is a series of overacted confrontations between the girls in which they grimace and cry a lot and give the viewer extremely vague exposition. A little more context would have been nice, like who the characters are and why the viewer should care about them. All this is annoyingly intercut with shots of extras doing stuff, fragments of irrelevant dialogue - and bits of a subplot between two other characters that is completely redundant. The director (who also played the director in the film) seems to have self-importantly shoehorned herself into nearly every scene. These other bits then feel like mere padding, as if during pre-production it turned out that writing the real meat of the script, giving the characters context and some genuine conflict or tension, was really, really hard. I find that a shame because show business with its egocentric personas, its gossip and also prejudice should have provided a dramatic enough setting for an emotional story about a lesbian relationship between actresses. I've seen the film described as slow but I feel that word does not capture my feeling. There is slow and then there is drawn out. Room in Rome was slow but offered much more in terms of both eroticism and character focus. Mind you, making an 80 minute film feel drawn out is an achievement in itself. For a real relationship drama, lesbian or otherwise, you'll need to look elsewhere.

Word plays always get an extra point with me ... kidding aside you might have scene it already. Now can filming a movie or just one "simple" scene be harrowing and draining as ... can be? Yes, it is not that you have an inkling how something might go. Especially with relationships developing (devolving) ... and also reshoots can be ... a pain.

Now actors who do a love scene together can fall in love with each other. Actually it is also quite funny when you see how the scene is shot and how not hot at all it is making it (which makes the end result even more amazing). If you expect titilating love scenes all around, you may have the wrong movie anyway. There is nudity and there is ... passion. But that is mostly because of missunderstood things between our two leads here.

If you can't stand the drama, you may not like what is happening on your screen - but it is really well made, even if it feels annoying at times. Life can be the way ... love even more so (complicated)

I can't believe how rude some people can be, this movie was so beautiful to me and I had to create an account because I want to offer my support against the haters.

I can see how the movie might seem slow to some. This isn't your typical movie with unrealistic drama at every corner. It is so emotional and relatable because it shows something everyone (well most everyone) has gone through. Breakups can be so heartbreaking, and all of the elements of this movie come together to convey that with aching subtlety. It is rare that you see a film that can make you feel so many things with just one look the actress gives or one strategically placed piano note. Shannon (Zoe) is especially gifted, her range of emotion is incredibly refreshing.

I never cry during movies, but this one really took me by surprise. So much tension builds up, and you see these two people who were once in love now fighting with each other and so angry. You start to find out how it all fell apart, but also without actually seeing the moment they fell in love. Then they hit you with that moment and you finally understand why they are so hurt. That scene was so incredible beautiful, and I credit both ladies for how amazing they did at appearing so in love. So many movies you see people fall in love and it doesn't look real. The culmination of that scene is what really got me to shed a few tears. I thought it would have been some sort of crazy inception situation where the actresses fell in love while filming the scene where they fell in love. I doubt that happened, but it would have been cool.

Anyway, I recommend this movie to anyone who has been through heartbreak. Anyone who appreciates beautiful acting in a film that pays attention to every fine detail. Everyone involved in the movie really did an amazing job. Thank you for making me feel this way because it is something I really needed.