The Boy Downstairs

Sometimes a movie gets lost in the shuffle. Certainly the plot is old and often told but movie making is all in the telling. Zosia Mamet give a memorable performance with an authenticity that moves one and forces identification. Her performance is so effortless that it is easy to miss the exceptional acting. Which means that the acting was superb. The movie captures the hesitation to expose feelings in love while recognizing that the goal of love is to share life with someone who loves you as well. Perhaps the promotion was weak. But this movie is a must see and brings a catharsis to all who struggle with commitment but do dare to risk to truly love and be loved.

I honestly usually despise romantic comedies or romantic type movies in general, but this one was done well. I was captivated by the characters and their realistic/mundane lives that were intertwined with emotions, heartbreak, and love. The acting was also pretty great, you really felt as though the characters were genuinely in love. Overall it was very good.

An American romantic comedy; A story about a young woman who is forced to reflect on her first relationship when she inadvertently moves into her ex-boyfriend's apartment building. There are some fresh moments in this droll and occasionally amusing indie, even if it may feel like a familiar storyline. It is told from a mix of present-day scenes and flashbacks but they do nothing to stop the characters looking stranded at times. Mamet is charismatic in her quirkiness but by equal measure her character is irritatingly self-absorbed. All in all, the naval-gazing is diverting, even if the characters lack distinctiveness.

I do think your enjoyment of this will hinge on your tolerance for the acting style of Zosia Mamet. If you have not seen Girls then you should know that Zosia acts in a particular style. Lots of ummms.... etc. This doesn't bother me.

The story is a bit refreshing as well. Basically a girl is about to head off to London for an extended time there (2 years or more) when she meets someone. She chooses to break it off because of that and, upon returning to New York, unknowingly rents out an apartment in the same building as her ex. Awkward hijinks ensue.

Both characters were well written and seemed like real people. Many of the situations they found themselves in did not seem unreasonable and were interesting. I particularly liked her love interest in both how he acted and how he looked as he was not the typical hollywood love interest.

So I really really wanted to like this movie, and a part of me did; only because I love " Shoshana". The acting was appropriate for its vernacular. My cinema induced anxiety was a result of the grossly abused words heard in almost every scene i.e " like" " ummm" " yea". Way too millennialish, and I am a millennial! True to life scenario's- we don't always get what we want, the one that got away, and of course IRONY. While this movie did have some good, it like had ummmmm like more bad, like yea.