You Instead

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.

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.

Look. This movie is not going to win any awards. It's very short and honestly, there's NOT a whole lot of actual story here. However, I thought it was a nice little distraction. I enjoyed the chemistry between the two main characters. Are they gonna win Oscars for their acting? Eh. They were obnoxious but I liked them. The music was great. I loved hearing all the new songs and hearing some old ones in a whole new way. Actually, I really enjoyed all of the music in the movie. Is this movie gonna change your life? Nope. It's definitely not going to do that. Sometimes a movie just is what it is and that's OK! Give it a chance....

You Instead is as close as it gets to being at a music festival without actually being there. Right from the start the audience is wholly immersed in the festival atmosphere. This is, in part, down to the crew shooting the entirety of the film at the T in the Park event in Scotland and featuring the artists performing there (Biffy Clyro and Joe Mango to name two).

Director David Mackenzie took the two actors and their supporting cast and literally dropped them in it. Up to their knees in mud at times and performing amongst a genuine crowd of revellers from start to finish. Luke Treadaway and Natalia Tena are more than convincing as frontmen of their respective bands, largely helped by Tena's burgeoning career as a musician with her group Molotov Jukebox.

You Instead takes brilliant advantage of an environment where the rules of daily life no longer apply. The result is a film populated with larger than life characters in a world we rarely get a glimpse of, and it's a great fun place to spend an hour and a half.

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.