Dirty Beautiful

The life from David does change as soon as he is meeting this crazy, childish, adventurous woman who turns him into a more lovely guy. Together with her he experiences a real roller coaster of emotions and their time together brings lots of ups and downs in their lives as well because she likes David but at the beginning she must clarify her relationship with another man who as soon as she meets David she spontaneously radically drops him off (her first guy) from her life and decides to begin the adventure with the sensitive David who believes her and lets her into his life, now knowing what is about to happen. As soon as he lets her into his home and spends his time with her, he realizes that she is a bit crazy in her own way but she also falls in love with him and it takes time until David expresses his emotions towards her that's why she seems a bit frustrated and so arguments appear but their time together in silence proofs that love is what we feel not what we talk. So they soon understand their connection and begin to truly feel for each other. I definitely like this film. Also the acting performances are realistic and so very good.

Tim Bartell's 'Dirty Beautiful' is a charming indie film that has the bonus of being edited by Daniel Raim. I wasn't sure about the film's beginning, but then 'Dirty Beautiful' dug its heels in and through a tightening narrative managed to really engage emotionally and convey its sweet heartwarming spirit. There seems to be a yearning in the filmmaker's vision to see through a caring but dysfunctional relationship, and this kind of relatability to real life may provoke some viewers to actually ask themselves, if caught in such a scenario: should I stay or should I go? Watch and find out!

1. This review penned June 2016 at a time when the ONLY reviews on the IMDb were -- "coincidentally" -- from members who -- "mysteriously" -- had all joined at EXACTLY the same time, had all left only one single review for posterity (of this film, DUH) and all thought it was the greatest thing since Godfather or Star Wars or sliced bread. So, in the interest of fair coverage, I wanted to offer a slightly more objective review from a member with more than one review to his credit. That would be me.

2. A newbie to romcoms might be forgiven for thinking that Woody Allen invented the "mismatched couple" trope with Annie Hall, but this is not true. If you go back to the golden age of film (the 1930s and 1940s) you will find a number of these kinds of scripts, mostly B movies, but many with big names like Harlow and Arthur. Allen does get credit perhaps for deconstructing this kind of story (more than once, in fact) and then rebuilding it, taking it to a new level for the modern viewer.

3. Which of course is precisely what writer/Director Bartell had in mind with Dirty Beautiful. Deconstucting the "mismatched couple" story and then rebuilding it, hopefully, into something new and different. Bartell does succeed -- for about 10 minutes. The setup is great. A clearly neurotic young man for whom women are a complete mystery stumbles across a homeless girl (hot, bright, chatty) who basically has only two questions, DO YOU HAVE A GIRLFRIEND and DO YOU WANT ONE? Great concept. If they gave Oscars for a logline, this would get a nomination. But they don't. Good films need more than a clever setup.

4. The film peaks at about the 15:00 minute mark and if you stick it out, you will end up almost as neurotic as the central character. The chemistry between the two principles is not there. The script and direction falter. The first person narrative (talking into the camera, as if to the viewer) gets old real fast. If this film were an elevator, it starts at the top floor and just keeps dropping during the run-length.

7. I think my rating is fair. I think everyone involved -- Bartell and his stars -- are capable of doing better. Woody Allen is not staying up nights worried about losing his niche.

8. If you really really want to see this storyline done to perfection, I recommend MY SASSY GIRL, the original 2001 version, in Korean, with subs. (There are multiple remakes of the original, and you can ignore them all.) It is essentially "as good as it gets" for this theme. And entertaining as hell.

This was such a treat. I love this kind of tales and filmmaking where you can really feel the characters and their struggles but also have a good time. I especially loved the lead actor and the camera work is beautiful! Looking forward to seeing more work by Bartell.

This film is excellent! The conundrum that fuels this funny/tragic story is all too familiar to anyone who's been in a toxic relationship (or a few). I so enjoyed how brutally honest Dirty Beautiful is. While the behaviors that fuel the chaos in the film touch on the extreme, the premise is entirely relatable for most of us: it takes two to make a relationship crazy. And I honestly couldn't tell who I sided with more in the relationship. She's an agent of chaos. He's an agent of control. Both cross every line, but they just spiral back inward, toward each other. Like some primal magnet. Again--relatable. The performances are really, really good and so much of the dialogue felt like it must have been pulled from some very real experiences. Both of those things working in harmony brought about a superb energy. I can't recommend it highly enough.