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What Richard Did (2012)
Atmospheric, but wholly unoriginal
Richard is an affable Irish senior, on the brink of the rest of his life. He finds love, has good friends, loving parents. It's all rainbows and butterflies - until a surprising accident throws his entire future off course. Or so we think?
I think the problem with this film isn't that it's badly made, it's just that it didn't exactly NEED to be made. This story has been told before, in better (even more illustrative ways). I kept expecting the rug to be pulled from under many a few times during it but I was never surprised, just continually disappointed. And quite frankly - bored.
Furthermore--and this is something that struck me as odd and disappointing--I remember seeing quite a similar film (in terms of plot and imagery) called 'Paranoid Park'. It came out in 2007, and was directed by (you guessed it?) - Gus Van Sant. It was a little ball of atmosphere, full of subtle beautiful music and ambient colours. Sparse dialogue, too, but it had a slow startling impact on me, near the end. Still, it wasn't exemplary or particularly memorable.
'What Richard Did' follows the exact cookie-cutter formula (as niche as that sounds)- to an even more underwhelming effect. I doubt I'll remember it a week from now.
The dialogue was stilted (more unrealistic than realistic, ironically), the characters were neither sympathetic or unsympathetic. They were just.. blank. I didn't really care what happened to any of them by the end, and guess what - not much did.
I'd say if you love laboriously prolonged scenes and the odd scenic take, watch this. Else - you're wasting your time.
2/10
Ceremony (2010)
A pretty little film.
I'll keep this short. Just out the gate, I think there's two types of people who will like this: a) those with a eye for hipster-esque romantic indies with above-average dialogue and sweet scenes that breathe and b) those who have a affinity for one of the main cast (Thurman, Pace, Angarano). Luckily, I fit both those categories - and truly, I loved it.
It isn't ha-ha funny, or an epic romance, but it plays true to life. The scenes are well put together, the acting is on-spot (which is a true achievement, considering what some may consider oddities in casting choice) and moments are over/underplayed to the right extent (again, very important). The setting is beautiful, the music gives character and the secondary actors only add to the overall narrative.
I don't think there's a broad message for anyone here. It's what you make of it, based on the person you are.
Overall, if you can handle a breezy, quaint 90 minutes that maybe make you question your own romantic entanglements and first-world issues, give this a go. If you'd rather have a solid beginning/middle/end sort of rom-com, look elsewhere. :)