I watched this film off the back of its strong premise and the promise of a decent acting performance from the usually brilliant Zoe Kazan. I suppose I'll preface my review by saying that I was disappointed, as the film seemed totally unable to stick to any genre it supposedly was. Initially pitched as a sci-fi/ romance, the film dwindled into a pudgy mess of awkward dialogue, ill-fitting score and incredibly unlikable and unrelatable characters.
Whilst the plot seemed a unique take on the generally overplayed star-crossed lovers theme it didn't take me long to figure out that this was just another chick-flick full of comedically bad villains the likes of; the nosy housewife who couldn't paint, or, the women who liked her steaks well done. The most heinous of all villains was of course Phillip the husband, whilst not being wholly neglectful in his marriage, was just so unrealistically dickish that at times I did think Rebecca, played by Kazan, should run away with the random voice in her head. Perhaps this was supposed to infer some underlying theme regarding domestic abuse, but in all honesty the worst thing he actually did apart from being a jerk all the time was stop her from refilling her wine glass at that boring function.
The old 'troubled intellectual' / 'Good Will Hunting' trope also made an appearance through Dylan's character, played by Michael Stahl-David, which might just have worked in making him a likable character if not for his continuous stupidity. It was particularly grating when the film tried to introduce the idea of his intellect through dry wit and the word "benign" when chatting with a woman at the bar... I mean clearly he's to good for this town if he knows such a big word. But overall I just found the film a hard pill to swallow as I cringed through nearly every interaction.
If you must watch this film, or you have already watched it and are trawling through the reviews for some explanation as to why you just sat through such a "benign" piece of trash, may I recommend a nearly identical yet vastly superior film "The F word" ("What If" in the U.S) also starring Zoe Kazan but without the psychic element or the terrible, terrible.... everything else.
Whilst the plot seemed a unique take on the generally overplayed star-crossed lovers theme it didn't take me long to figure out that this was just another chick-flick full of comedically bad villains the likes of; the nosy housewife who couldn't paint, or, the women who liked her steaks well done. The most heinous of all villains was of course Phillip the husband, whilst not being wholly neglectful in his marriage, was just so unrealistically dickish that at times I did think Rebecca, played by Kazan, should run away with the random voice in her head. Perhaps this was supposed to infer some underlying theme regarding domestic abuse, but in all honesty the worst thing he actually did apart from being a jerk all the time was stop her from refilling her wine glass at that boring function.
The old 'troubled intellectual' / 'Good Will Hunting' trope also made an appearance through Dylan's character, played by Michael Stahl-David, which might just have worked in making him a likable character if not for his continuous stupidity. It was particularly grating when the film tried to introduce the idea of his intellect through dry wit and the word "benign" when chatting with a woman at the bar... I mean clearly he's to good for this town if he knows such a big word. But overall I just found the film a hard pill to swallow as I cringed through nearly every interaction.
If you must watch this film, or you have already watched it and are trawling through the reviews for some explanation as to why you just sat through such a "benign" piece of trash, may I recommend a nearly identical yet vastly superior film "The F word" ("What If" in the U.S) also starring Zoe Kazan but without the psychic element or the terrible, terrible.... everything else.