Home, James

This is a fun and touching love story that doesn't hide from the difficulties of relationship issues, and doesn't candy coat the ending.

Jonathan Rossetti both stars and directs this film set in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is a charming young up-and-coming photographer who meets a very dashing young woman named Cooper who hits the bottle a little too hard nightly. They fall for each other but, as in any good love story, issues pop up. Cooper is leaving for greener pastures in NYC in a month. Meanwhile, James really belongs in Tulsa where he has good friends and gallery interest in his photos. Something has to give. Is a truly happy ending possible with such a scenario? The statements about love are subtle but grounded: how much does one sacrifice for the other loved one, and is such a sacrifice healthy? Despite the toxicity of Cooper's charm, and the small but repairable damage she indirectly does to James' career and his face after a night of heavy drinking, James has to painfully accept that they are not destined to be together. Cooper also must grow up to make this realization herself. No one is truly at fault, it's just how real life works sometimes between two people. This is the most refreshing aspect of the film, as most romantic comedies are frightened to take a hard look at the realities of relationships, whether these relationships are just starting, as in the world of James and Cooper, or are really digging into the nitty gritty of long term (marriages, etc.). Thankfully, the end of the film expresses two people's lives going in different directions in different cities, although they are both thinking of each other and missing one another. Is this also not part of the cycle of love, and should separation not also be part of what the various aspects of relationships that films explore? It's clear Rossetti and his crew love Tulsa. Ample establishing shots give a very good sense of the city, the environment the characters live in is both beautiful, gritty at times, and yet inviting.

The acting was well done, and the parts extremely well cast. I am excited to see what is next for Rossetti and his team.

The movie starts out charmingly. Ambitious photographer who uses a darkroom and has a quirky friendship with the girl at the counter who also goes to school as a liberal arts major, thus the chemistry. Okay, a night that he is taking folks home for a fee from bars (his scooter in the trunk), he happens upon a seemingly wealthy socialite with no real responsibility and is very drunk for a lot of the movie which is well-acted. She takes a shine to him but warns him she is planning on moving to NYC, and during the course of the relationship, asks him if he'll go with her. He balks, says Tulsa is his home (and good cinematography of Tulsa it is), and so they go back and forth, and finally, she is shown cleaning out her apartment, and he gets his own photography show. They an encounter at the end and by the look they give each other, we assume the outcome of the story. In between this, the storyline of the quirky friend is tied up neatly.

Anyway, the script was bad. There were some very strange lines written, and from my observation, the personality Jonathan Rossetti, (James) exudes, would not attract a beautiful socialite that Cooper was in real life. He does not exude the confidence or looks to get Cooper who was a 10, and the better actor. In fact, most of the actors were better than Rossetti. He should not have cast himself for that role, I hate to say. Therefore, it was not a believable scenario.

Again, the cinematography was superb. The music was great. It started out sweet. To put this together, the immense amount of work, panned out well to get it on DVD and distributed, but not great. I'm sure the next effort will be better.