Comet

Hollywood movies rarely move me as the formula used is predictable, with most endings being predictable shortly into the film. If you are looking for the Americana white picket fence house in the suburbs, two kids and a dog relationship this is not for you. Comet is a statement on love between two people looking for love who have the unsocial ability to speak their mind, the truth. Truth hurts, and without the "skills" to cushion their raw feelings they do hurt each other. Its a beautiful refreshing approach to viewing a relationship, magically crafted by the filmmakers by interweaving the 6 year timeline of their relationship leading up to the final scenes. A film to show this narrative needed two actors who could bring the characters to life and make you believe, outstandingly accomplished by Justin Long and Emmy Rossum. Please realize most of this entire film is carried by these two actors, the supporting cast is small but excellent, the cinematography is captivatingly beautiful, and the musical score integrated perfectly, adding up to a great movie experience. I gave this film a 10, which I never do, to counterbalance the rating of people who obviously did not take the time to take this journey. Don't missed out on relating a few stokes of your life's colour brush to this painting..

That's what "Comet" is about and that's how it feels.

It's about man and a woman shown in different stages of their 6- year-long relationship. The director's got the remote and he's switching through the "channels" of their lives: the couple after 2 years, the day they met, the couple after 1 year and so on. You just need to be able to yield the steering wheel and enjoy the scenery. And wow! What a beautiful scenery it is! This movie is about romantic mood, conversation and connecting. It's neither about events, nor chronological order. It's not about a traditional story or deep meaning, but rather about how it makes you connect the characters to your own love experiences and the fuzzy feelings you get.

As Justin Long's character says at one point: "you should see our relationship as a painting; it doesn't have a beginning, a middle and an end."

Time is not a character allowed to crash their lives'party.

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.

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.

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.