In Search of a Midnight Kiss

To tell the truth I wasn't really expecting much from this indie romantic comedy. Much in the line of other great indie movies like "Clerks", "Before Sunrise" or "Walking and Talking" nothing much happens in this movie apart from a lot of talking. Wilson (Scoot McNairy), a scriptwriter going through a terrible patch in life, is caught jerking off to his best friend's girl photoshopped picture. This naturally is the newest low in his disastrously low last three months. More entertained than mad his pal convinces Wilson to sign up to a dating service as 'The Misanthrope' in an attempt to avoid him having to spend New Year's alone. His first hit is Vivian (Sara Simmonds), a Texan girl, who has just left her man and is out to dominate in an attempt to have a fun night out. After a not-so-good initial meeting the pair suddenly seem to start hitting it off... but will they last till midnight and the midnight kiss? Funny, honest and filled with those awkward moments that populate any real conversation this is a refreshing change of pace from most American movies. There is absolutely nothing to distract you from the picture in the shape of cinematography (which is adequate and somewhat amateurish), music and other such typical movie filler. Therefore the dialogues and interaction of characters has to work in order for the movie to hit home. Several times I felt the movie is close to falling off the edge, but time after time it miraculously pounces back to make a heartwarming and almost perfect finale. I must admire the script as a whole, although not all of the conversations really seemed to work and some scenes seemed forcibly overcooked.

Scoot McNairy almost singlehandedly keeps this picture together with a commanding if reserved and exceptionally natural performance. The rest of the cast is OKish with Sara Simmonds sometimes giving in a strong performance, but multiple scenes she borders on being irritating and unlikeable. Somehow even when in danger of that happening the director with the aid of McNairy manages to put the movie back on track. And the last 15 minutes or so are really poignant and make the whole experience extremely worthwhile.

Just finished my first viewing of the film. I feel compelled to write a review in the hope that it persuades just 1 more person to see this film. This film is a great piece of writing, directing and acting. It's just a great film. That fact that it is not perfect makes the film as close to perfect as you can get. Just when I was thinking I would have wrote/shot this scene differently because I got annoyed with it I realised maybe the point was to invoke the emotion.

What to expect is nicely paced movie which, as expected, focuses on the 2 main characters and the dialogue they have. You will laugh out loud, you will get annoyed, you will feel up, you will feel down and you will feel some genuine heart ache. Not to mention everything feels real. The scene just after they have some chewing gum is SO REAL to me that I find it hard to believe most people have not had an experience exactly like that.

Honestly I kind of sad that Hollywood is built in such a way that many people won't get to see or hear of this movie. Do your bit and spread the word.

BRILLIANT. Buy this film. Watch it and tell your friends to watch it.

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.

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.

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.