In Search of a Midnight Kiss

Finding love – or any sort of emotional bond, or even just a one night stand – on the web might not be easier than in the "real world", but it's certainly a way to start looking for that someone if you're too shy or depressed to go out and meet people.

Alex Holdridge's extremely low-budget, black-and-white "In Search of a Midnight Kiss", is another variation of the "brief encounter" subgenre ("Lost In Translation", "Before Sunrise/Sunset") that I just love, and one of the finest feel good movies of the year. Despite some clichéd gimmickry of first-time filmmakers (this is Holdridge's third feature, actually), the movie relies on the chemistry of its protagonists, Scoot McNairy and Sara Simmonds, who are up for the task.

McNairy plays Wilson, who just got dumped by his long-term girlfriend (this is semi-autobiographical – Holdridge got dumped by his girlfriend and had his laptop stolen in real life, just like Wilson in the movie), who posts a Craigslist ad following a friend's idea. He decides to meet the first woman who calls him, Vivian (Simmonds), a chain-smoking, temperamental aspiring actress. But they hit it off. The movie is essentially their day together, while we wonder whether they will share a New Year midnight kiss or not...

"In Search of a Midnight Kiss" will be enjoyed by those who had a similar experience (that is, finding a nice person online – that can be as unlikely as getting randomly picked by a Belgian hottie on his last night in America - but I met my best friend online, so yes, these things CAN happen!), or those who dream of finding someone special. This film proves that a not so original premise and lack of technical resources can still make a good movie if the talents involved are able to make you want to go for the ride with them. And this search was a lovely ride. 8.5/10.

This is one of my favorite films of 2007. It captures perfectly the feeling of living and dating in this day and age. Midnight Kiss is also one of the few films I've seen that manages to convey both the male and female points of view, in a very truthful and funny manner. The actors are all fantastic, in particular the expressive Scoot McNairy and the lovely Sara Simmonds.

This is what every independent film should be - unique, engaging, laugh out loud funny and tear-inducing as well. I was never bored and left wanting more. The audience I saw it with included twenty-somethings on up to people in their 70s, and everyone raved about it afterwards - amazing to see a film connect with so many people from different age groups. I just hope Midnight Kiss is given a great marketing campaign and a chance to build audiences with word of mouth and good reviews, because this is a jewel of a film that deserves a chance to be seen and succeed at the box office. Well done!

Alex Holdridge's film 'In Search of a Midnight Kiss' begins as the tale of a loser going on a date with a beautiful, painfully hip, but neurotic girl. This suggests a certain type of movie will follow; but as he gains confidence, and her act slips, a balance grows between them, they start flirting and the film soon starts to resemble Richard Linklater's 'Before Sunrise' (in fact, the resemblance only grows the longer the film lasts). In fact, I hated that film, but here, the characters are less self-regarding and the film has genuinely funny dialogue, coupled with interesting black and white photography, soppy indie guitar music (regulation for this type of film, but nonetheless effective) and a comic vision reminiscent of early Hal Hartley. If I have one criticism, it's that the sentimental mood that gradually takes the movie over possibly starts too soon; it's nicely done, but the film is at it's best before it settles into this comfort zone. This doesn't mean it isn't a humorous, romantic and artistic film.

This movie grows on you, so I recommend that you give it a chance. You may well find yourself initially annoyed by the main characters, but after a while they become sympathetic and even, in their own way, heroic. The main female character especially has more depth and insight than you might credit her with having on your first impression. The dialogue is good, as is the acting, and the plot turns are surprising. The scene that takes place in an old movie theater reveals the beauty of a bygone era. The couple in the supporting role bring their own complications and thereby add to the drama and fun. Altogether, an engaging movie.

Can love be found in the sparkle of damp streets? A soft-focus moment as desire is swept and sublimated into the tenderest kiss?

Do these scenes elicit warm memories for you? Or is it an emotional jack-off to a place you want to be in but can't?

In the last few days of each year, activity on sites like MySpace and Craigslist swells 300%. So many looking for love on New Year's Eve. Our ex-video-clerk (and award-winning film-maker), Alex Holdridge, has made them a movie. A dark, perverted, gritty, romantic comedy that, like a new relationship, comes with big indie warts-and-all. Then turns them around in an artsy, offbeat triumph.

Opening black-and-white photography of couples kissing exudes style. Tasteful snogging on sidewalks. Smooching by a river. Under neon. Christmas illuminations. Streetlights and shadows, and quiet corners. Sinatra croons "As Time Goes By" and a convenient voice-over says: "It's not just another kiss - it's all the hope of romance of the year culminating in just one moment."

But lets get real a minute. Our protagonist, love-luckless Wilson, is segueing the female half of one such scene into a private erotic fantasy. It features his best friend's girlfriend, Min. (Here the comedy plays to our discomfort). Determined to find him a life, Jacob and Min cajole him into placing an online dating ad. Vivian, neurotic blonde with openly cut-throat approach, soon 'interviews' Wilson as her potential New Year's Eve date.

Gutsy performances and shambolic production values keep Midnight Kiss rooted to some recognisable reality rather than the glossy romcom it could easily have become. Rambling dialogue is cringeworthy from the characters' awkwardness rather than lack of writing talent. What at first sight seems like an amateurish losers' mess, gradually earns its wings as human interaction shows Wilson to be more substantial and interesting than his tosser persona would credit; and Vivian to be more human than her pill-popping intro would have us believe.

Vivian's location sets were almost too realistic for the film's own good it seems. Twice, the cast and crew were threatened with police action when downmarket hotel managers were spooked by the sight of empty liquor bottles and prescription drug pill boxes. Much of the movie is made in downtown Los Angeles or Sunset Boulevard - surrounded by derelict theatres and decrepit hotels. But its verité style lovingly exposes both the city's decay and its beauty. Originally conceived as bitter critique, its ultimate appeal (like 'thelostshoeproject.com' that Vivian champions - 'everyone is searching for something') is one of jewels in the dust.

Pacing is adroitly achieved through abrupt changes in emotional resonance. From initial, self-consciously polished cinematography, we are thrown into Wilson's desultory world. And just as we want to lose patience with him, Vivian erupts into the dialogue, kicking ass all the way from Texas to L.A. A subplot involving Jacob and Min's romance distracts us long enough for the outcome of Wilson and Vivian's date to develop the needed tension. And perhaps the fact that the film doesn't sell out at the end persuades us to view the whole episode more kindly. The palpably low-budget allows the skills of the filmmakers to shine through - whereas a market-perfect production could well have glossed over them. Rather than a movie for couples out on a date, In Search of A Midnight Kiss is for all the people who wish they were out on a date. Or for couples brave enough to ask if they are any better off.

The film, for all its flaws, connects in a way that sanitised romantic comedy can not. Perhaps in idealising love it is all too easy to ignore the grubbier roots and miss what is in front of our eyes.