*SPOILER ALERT*
Capture's 'The Girl in the Dress' ticks all the boxes for a rom com - it features lots of dramatic irony, a last-minute wedding day mix-up, and a healthy dose of absurd social awkwardness. It is certainly a direct descendent of the films of Richard Curtis (Four Weddings, Bridget Jones, Notting Hill etc.) but it brings enough of it's own quirkiness to stand on its own. A lot of the film's strength comes from its wholesome, pleasant vibe, as with many good comedies. This is due to the surprising likeability of characters. There's something undeniably funny about the fact that it's Rob, a street entertainer who spends his days frozen still as a statue, who turns out to be the most emotionally intelligent, warm and sensitive character in the film. He takes it upon himself to counsel Emily - preaching a simple, optimistic idea of having faith in love. The way we see Emily's plight also makes us sympathise with a character who isn't objectively likeable. Emily intends to crash a wedding and ruin everyone's happiness because she can't let go of a childish fantasy. The oversized ribbons on her hairpiece and dress make her look like a little girl playing dress-up. Olivia Poulet's performance is filled with nervous energy and neurotic twitches - these are all tell-tale signs. But when the narrative starts we don't have all the information and assume, along with Rob, that today is Emily's big wedding day. And she believes it is. The first half of the film centres on this climax of irony. Rob, attempting to be a good guy, gives out horribly misinformed advice and propels the story towards disaster. The camera work is largely static in the first half, and the focus is on the dialogue between Rob and Emily. Olivia Poulet and Nick Helm make their lines sound very natural whilst also delivering snappy, absurd punchlines - which is a real feat of screenwriting. The 'laughter circle' exercise moment is particularly effective - I found myself laughing, sort of joining in on the exercise. The second half centres on a set-piece which brings dynamic excitement and production value to the film. The first half could even stand alone as a micro-budget short film. However now DoP Vanessa Whyte switches to a Steadicam with wider lenses which allow her to float among the pews of an old church and follow Emily on a brilliant cat-and-mouse chase which provides lots of movement and tension. The use of the Church pulpit to frame Olivia's face and show the crowd of guests in the background, unaware of the double-meaning of Mary's speech, is the height of dramatic irony. All-in-all this film took a genre that I don't usually enjoy and made it very charming and wholesome. The script is intelligent and utilises irony effectively. The ending is smooth and happy - Emily comes to her senses (in the nick of time), Mary turns out to be a good, if forceful friend, and Rob is once again given the opportunity to be the good guy. Let's hope he doesn't mess it up this time.
Capture's 'The Girl in the Dress' ticks all the boxes for a rom com - it features lots of dramatic irony, a last-minute wedding day mix-up, and a healthy dose of absurd social awkwardness. It is certainly a direct descendent of the films of Richard Curtis (Four Weddings, Bridget Jones, Notting Hill etc.) but it brings enough of it's own quirkiness to stand on its own. A lot of the film's strength comes from its wholesome, pleasant vibe, as with many good comedies. This is due to the surprising likeability of characters. There's something undeniably funny about the fact that it's Rob, a street entertainer who spends his days frozen still as a statue, who turns out to be the most emotionally intelligent, warm and sensitive character in the film. He takes it upon himself to counsel Emily - preaching a simple, optimistic idea of having faith in love. The way we see Emily's plight also makes us sympathise with a character who isn't objectively likeable. Emily intends to crash a wedding and ruin everyone's happiness because she can't let go of a childish fantasy. The oversized ribbons on her hairpiece and dress make her look like a little girl playing dress-up. Olivia Poulet's performance is filled with nervous energy and neurotic twitches - these are all tell-tale signs. But when the narrative starts we don't have all the information and assume, along with Rob, that today is Emily's big wedding day. And she believes it is. The first half of the film centres on this climax of irony. Rob, attempting to be a good guy, gives out horribly misinformed advice and propels the story towards disaster. The camera work is largely static in the first half, and the focus is on the dialogue between Rob and Emily. Olivia Poulet and Nick Helm make their lines sound very natural whilst also delivering snappy, absurd punchlines - which is a real feat of screenwriting. The 'laughter circle' exercise moment is particularly effective - I found myself laughing, sort of joining in on the exercise. The second half centres on a set-piece which brings dynamic excitement and production value to the film. The first half could even stand alone as a micro-budget short film. However now DoP Vanessa Whyte switches to a Steadicam with wider lenses which allow her to float among the pews of an old church and follow Emily on a brilliant cat-and-mouse chase which provides lots of movement and tension. The use of the Church pulpit to frame Olivia's face and show the crowd of guests in the background, unaware of the double-meaning of Mary's speech, is the height of dramatic irony. All-in-all this film took a genre that I don't usually enjoy and made it very charming and wholesome. The script is intelligent and utilises irony effectively. The ending is smooth and happy - Emily comes to her senses (in the nick of time), Mary turns out to be a good, if forceful friend, and Rob is once again given the opportunity to be the good guy. Let's hope he doesn't mess it up this time.