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 2004 - USADirector: Dylan Kidd - Reviewed by Vickie
This sophomore effort from director Dylan Kidd (Roger Dodger) falls into that latter category and creates a wonderfully confusing, frightfully exciting, completely unexpected relationship for the film’s two wildly appealing leads. Laura Linney, in an exceptionally drool-tastic role (she looks amazing!), stars as Louise Harrington, a Columbia University admissions officer who finds herself falling for a much-younger man whom she believes is somehow the reincarnation (or return) of her late high-school boyfriend. The object of her ardent affection is F. Scott Feinstadt (Topher Grace), a masters-program applicant who happens to possess the same name, personality and face as Louise’s long-deceased former beau. The attraction is intense, immediate and mutual, but neither party has any idea why or where their romance may be headed. The key to this film’s success is the draw of Linney and Grace, who have undeniable chemistry, and their ability to create real people onscreen. Louise is unhappy, uncertain, unmotivated and underappreciated until F. Scott comes along and, once he does, she’s born again. Revitalized. Refreshed. But terrified. He’s charming, funny, talented, mischievous and entirely adorable. Both characters are lovable but slightly flawed, and their flaws just make them more endearing. Louise and F. Scott are equally surprised by what’s happening, equally bewildered by the sudden explosion of passion between them and equally frightened of their own, seemingly reckless romantic abandon. Linney is especially strong. For starters, she looks fantastic and it’s easy to see why F. Scott would fall for Louise in a heartbeat. But her character is also a woman of many layers, and getting to peek at them one by one (the sexy layer, the ‘fraidy-cat layer, the wounded layer, the loving layer) is part of what makes the movie, and Linney, fascinating to watch. Louise isn’t just an older woman looking to hook-up with some young stud for a good time. She’s a woman looking to reconnect with her damaged past and the feelings associated with her one great love…which she may have romanticized over time. Grace makes for the perfect young cad. And I don’t mean “cad” in a negative way. F. Scott is a smiley, confident, intelligent guy who knows what kind of valuable thing he’s stumbled upon in loving Louise. Grace is becoming a better and better actor with each passing role, and this one will likely secure his bankability as a leading man. Gabriel Byrne and Marcia Gay Harden co-star and, especially in Harden’s case, turn in some delicious (albeit brief) performances. But the film belongs to the sexy, stumbling couple at its core. Linney and Grace, and their fictional alter egos, are the heart and soul of this smart, funny and poignant film that takes a well-aged formula and turns it into something special. |
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Movies about May-December relationships between older men and younger
women are a dime a dozen and, as a result, the trend tends to spawn
less-than-glorious projects (hello, Autumn in New York! nice to
see you, Entrapment!). But, for some reason, the films centering
on older women with younger men, while fewer in number, seem to be of
better quality (The Graduate, anyone? Tadpole?).
