Comet

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.

The aesthetic here is really incredible. Of course, it goes a bit overboard, but it works as well as it needs to. The acting is also really effective, but the dialogue just gets too pretentious at times. The beginning, especially, got sort of insufferable. But at one point within the first 20 minutes, I sort of got into the film and its characters. It was entertaining enough, even if the film didn't really do anything all that original. Very well done and composed as a whole, and Long was convincing, but the film really could've been something great and instead it's only halfway decent. But maybe that's enough for some people, I guess it just depends on each individual person.

I'm going to keep this very simple. The movie is well written and the actors are believable, a must watch for all those married couples and yet unmarried as well. The movie might be confusing but it clears up in the end.

The movie has a fabulous cast and the story keeps you going till the end. Justin Long has really surprised me with this movie. He manages to show something different this time and Emmy Rossum gives you that sweet and beautiful vibe to the movie.

Must admit that when the movie ends, it leaves you thinking about your life.

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.

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.