This film is one of the most unevenly paced films I've ever seen. The first 60 minutes are a glacially-paced drama involving two lonely men with complex relationships. They spend that entire time apart, and the actual romance between them only occurs in the final fifteen minutes and is rushed and incomplete. The first part could have been trimmed down enormously but instead meanders through the relationships of the supporting characters for far too long. At one point I was genuinely wondering if the film was about Gabe and Ernesto or about Gabe's wife and her date. Far too many shots linger over the characters, while driving and singing and while sitting petting cats, etc. I think the loneliness can be sold quicker than that.
I could easily re-envision this film as a taut 30 minutes setting up the two main characters' lonely lives followed by a final hour dealing with a fully fledged romance. Instead, we got an 80 minute film of mostly unfocused fluff.
It's an intimate portrait, sure, but it could have been so much more with a script overhaul and a better editor.
I could easily re-envision this film as a taut 30 minutes setting up the two main characters' lonely lives followed by a final hour dealing with a fully fledged romance. Instead, we got an 80 minute film of mostly unfocused fluff.
It's an intimate portrait, sure, but it could have been so much more with a script overhaul and a better editor.