Michael O'Keefe
Provocative, romantic and real steamy. After Coles(Mark Ruffalo)spies Sam(Maya Strange)on the bus, he meets her at a college party. Coles wants to know Sam better; but Sam wants her close friend Thea(Kathleen Robertson)to join in a three-way sexual exploration...any and every man's fantasy. Boundaries are pushed, lines are crossed and emotions accelerated. Ten years later, the three meet again and each has to decide what to do about their past actions colliding with their current life styles. Thea is married and with her husband owns a successful restaurant. Coles is a rising star in the animation/advertising world and lives with his girlfriend Claire(Petra Wright)of five years. Then there is Sam returning from working in London with an off and on again boyfriend. When Coles runs into Sam, the two rekindle old fireworks. Thea plans a get together for the three college friends/lovers and their significant other at her home on the beach. Coles decides to tell Claire that he is still in love with Sam. Before things can get ugly; Sam arrives late to the meeting expounding on her quickie marriage to her Brit boyfriend. The once carefree Coles has no real choice but to sink into depression. Ruffalo, Robertson and Strange are excellent in their minefield threesome. I just couldn't take my attention away from Robertson. You can't help but have concern for the trio. That's what makes for a good movie...caring about the characters. This rated R flick may not be your cup of organic tea; but it sure sustained my interest.
blue_monday-1
What can I say about this XX/XY? It starts off promising with the 90's stuff and raver scenes, but doesn't nearly have enough back story to make us really give a care about the three main characters. The lady who plays Sam is an alright actress, I think she's one of the highlights. Also, it's refreshing to see Mark Ruffalo clean shaved. He looks good in this, but alas, his acting is pretty lazy and not up to his usual standard. Thea is played by Kathleen Robertson, and at least she tries. The dialogue in this film is the most wooden I've heard in a non porno. It doesn't come off as sincere, and the acting is lacklustre. Mark Ruffalo doesn't deserve such a bad movie. He's probably the redeeming quality about this. But even Mark Ruffalo can't save this relationship drama that plays out more like a movie of the week than an indie film. Awkward sex scenes, awkward dialogue, style over substance. Pass.
john4films
Please have mercy on us. Another newbie, would-be writer-director, possibly just out of film school, dumps another one of these on us.Lord love a duck. But not a turkey. Pa-leeeeze!!!!!! It seems like the massive hoard of wanna-bees graduating in mass from film schools in every state and small town think that they have to do a meaningful film about the human condition, which to them obviously means the romantic and sexual and relationship trials and tribulations and complications of, of course, themselves.Apparently, they just don't realize that nobody cares about this except . . . themselves. Those younger than 20-something couldn't care less, and those older than that have already been through it and don't really care to watch for an hour and a half or more some newbie film school grad's self-absorbed, personal version of it. Even most other 20-somethings are yawning and watching other films that are professional and fun.Oh, well, if you like it, you like it. I don't. I find it to be another example of why recent film schools grads seem to be able to do nothing else except something self-absorbed like this. Try getting some real life experience before attempting to make films for anyone except yourself. The fact that one of the characters is a wanna-bee film writer/filmmaker shows you the extremely limited range of life experience of the would-be writer/director of this self-absorbed and boring-to-anyone-else 20-something project.Just another one on the massive pile. Should we just shoot these egotistical children constantly graduating from film school with nothing but fame and fortune and pretension in their limited imaginations? Or should we just wait until mommy and daddy's patience and/or money runs out and they end up in a tiny cubicle in an office, under constant stress, and continually whining and unhappy, 40 hours a week for the rest of their pompous lives? Oh, well, I won't worry about it. When mommy and daddy's money or patience runs out, reality will hit them in the head. Then, after years of struggling and suffering and hopelessness, maybe, just maybe, they'll finally have something to write about and film. But even then, they still might not have any talent.Gawd, but this was boring. Boring story, boring characters, and poorly executed. And totally self-absorbed. Get years and years of life experience before you try again. Please. But you will still need talent, and I didn't see any here.Sorry. For everyone involved in this supposed film and for everyone who tried to watch it. There are so many good films in the archives, and more added each year, that I don't recommend bothering to watch this one, unless you are this kid's parents. And then I highly recommend it, so that they will know to immediately cut this kid's free money off, so that he will be forced to get a job and deal with real life.1 out of 10, and only because the actors tried real hard to produce their horrible acting. 0 out of 10 for the writing and directing. And I've worked in the film business for years, and the TV and the music industries, too. But even just as a film consumer, it was horrible. The one reason that it is of any note at all is as a classic example of the phenomenon of recent film school graduate self-absorption and pretension to fame and fortune and talent.
JasonS
A wonderful piece of film-making. Abradingly honest and perceptive... too much for many I suspect (see the first comment here! When will we get off the idea that we watch films in order to like the people in them?). The performances here are superb - although Ruffalo can have one tick too many. Worth watching for the 'split mirror' scene alone.I've rarely seen sexual tension portrayed so well (perhaps in Happiness - the sofa scene?). It's so hard to find a film that is unapologetically sexy (sexual?) and cerebral.
