Midnight Suss
Here's an mp3 of my interview with Alex Holdridge, director-writer of In Search of a Midnight Kiss, and his stars, Scoot McNairy and Sara Simmonds, at Le Pain Quotidien on Wednesday, 8.20. It runs 45 minutes. Some of it is fine; some of it is hard to make out. You can't individually mike four people, and there's no such thing as a truly quiet restaurant. The clatter of plates and silverware, oppressive mood music, and the wallah-wallah of other customers always intrude.
Midnight Kiss star Sara Simmonds
At one point, having made my admiration for Midnight Kiss extremely clear (particularly the snappy dialogue, the unforced acting, the black-and-white photography), I brought up some of my issues with it. If you haven't seen the film, skip the rest of this article to avoid spoilers and confusion. In any event and in no particular order, here are my beefs:
(a) What's so godawful terrible about a guy admitting to a woman he's just getting to know (and vice versa) that he's jerked off to a photo of his roommate's girlfriend? Simmonds' character goes ballistic when McNairy tells her this, which seemed excessive to me. I wouldn't find this information very appealing, but I wouldn't go into an angry rage about it either. Particularly, as McNairy confides, if the roommate's girlfriend wasn't offended and was actually mildly charmed by this act of worship.
(b) One thing that turns me off big-time about a woman I'm just getting to know is finding out that her ex-boyfriend is a bullying, emotionally belligerent asshole with a country-boy accent. It shows that she has lousy judgment and probably has something wrong with her to have found this guy attractive in the first place. This is exactly the case with Simmonds and her ex-boyfriend in the film, who's played by the film's dp Robert Murphy. If I were in McNairy's character's shoes I would have said "outta here!" as soon as Murphy's personality and behavior became clear.
(c) I didn't agree with Simmonds' character telling McNairy's at the very end that seeing each other isn't going to work or fit. Even if she's pregnant. They've gone through so much, seem so compatible, have such excellent chemistry. She says at the beginning that she's looking for "the love of my life," she finds someone who just might fill the bill, and she blows him off?
(d) McNairy's rooommate is played by Brian McGuire, a lanky beanpole with a flabby stomach who seems to be at least 6' 6" if not taller. His beautiful, beloved girlfriend is played by Kathleen Luong, who appears to be 5'1" or 5'0", if that. It's not unheard of for super-tall guys to hook up with tiny women, but the gulf between these two is so extreme that it veers on the bizarre. Tall guys tend to hook up with tall or mid-size women, shortish guys date shortish women, etc. Basic birds-of-a-feather logic.
(e) Why have Luong twice express a romantic interest in McNairy without showing where it leads? We see that she's hot for him, and that's the end of it -- nothing carnal happens, nobody's feelings are hurt, no meltdown with McGuire. So what's the point?
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on August 23, 2008 at 9:01 AM
comment #1
qwiggles says ...
I disagree on the height thing. Yes, tall guys hook up with tall women, but that's because women generally date taller -- at least in this age set. So, it is also true that short girls hook up with tall guys.
Posted by qwiggles at August 23, 2008 12:26 PM
comment #2
Hal says ...
Girlfriend needs a manicure. There is a way to have the dark, chipped polish look, and that's not it.
Posted by Hal at August 23, 2008 1:15 PM
comment #3
gruver1 says ...
Wells to Hal: What...???
Posted by gruver1 at August 23, 2008 1:48 PM
comment #4
Terry McCarty says ...
Light a candle and pray that Simmonds goes on to a career more elevated than being in ABC yuppie dramas/sitcoms.
Posted by Terry McCarty at August 23, 2008 3:49 PM
comment #5
kinks541 says ...
Don't mind Hal. He thinks he's at TMZ.com.
Jeff, the problems you have with this movie are potentially bad enough to make me not want to see it.
Posted by kinks541 at August 23, 2008 3:52 PM
comment #6
Chapman Carruthers says ...
The girl is sucking down benzene, folmaldehyde, ammonia, and four-hundred of their closest friends, and you choose to critique her by commenting on her chipped fingernails?
Posted by Chapman Carruthers at August 23, 2008 5:10 PM
comment #7
DarthCorleone says ...
Mr. Wells>>
I'm not sure if you're going to be coming back around to this post, as it's so far back. But I went to see this film last night specifically because you had written about it so much, and of course I'm a sucker for that whole talkie-romantic-indie genre.
First off, thanks for the recommendation. I enjoyed the movie very much. At first I was worried that it was playing a little too broadly for my taste - that the tones of stock silliness and sincerity glaringly clashed - but by the end it all coalesced nicely for me.
a) I agree she overreacted, but I didn't have as much of a problem with it as you did. I think it was a fairly believable overreaction. The way he laughs ridiculously at it after he gives in and tells her was somewhat off-putting. Also, once she finds the condoms on him - again, she overreacts - her fragile emotional state with regard to the whole idea of sex comes into play. This makes sense considering what we find out about her later.
b) I agree the ex is extreme, but I was willing to forgive it. I've known some attractive, intelligent people who had some *extreme* exes. Her judgment is questionable, yes, but if she comes from a small enough town, it's within reason.
c) I think it's somewhat open-ended; she needs to get herself figured out first. And I'm willing to let the logic slide here as well, because there is something so bittersweet and perfectly romantic about nights like that one. I've been lucky to have one or two in my life, and if anything else had happened after, it probably would have diminished that evening.
Plus, I'm not so sure that he does fit the bill as "love of her life." The thing that I appreciated about the movie is that it is textured and ambiguous. Sometimes ships pass in the night, and they aren't perfect for each other, but that one interaction can still be near perfect.
d) Eh. That didn't bother me. I know a couple that is 6'4" and 5'3". I knew another one that was 6'4" and 5'1". I thought the roommate and girlfriend looked cute together.
e) I like that that's open-ended as well; life is filled with unresolved interludes like that. It adds a nice texture to the roommate's relationship, the suspense of the proposal, etc. Maybe it will work out; maybe it won't. Also, I'm not sure how "hot" she is for him. She might be trying to be nice on New Year's Eve to the sad-sack best friend of her boyfriend who is obviously depressed and desperate. I've gotten a couple pity kisses like that in my life.
In the end analysis, I didn't enjoy this as much as Before Sunrise/Before Sunset, but it was certainly worthy my time, and I'd watch it again.
Posted by DarthCorleone at August 26, 2008 11:29 AM
comment #8
DarthCorleone says ...
Worth. Not worthy.
By the way, the IMDB lists Brian McGuire as being 6'3". No word on Kathleen Luong's height.
Posted by DarthCorleone at August 26, 2008 3:17 PM
comment #9
janee
says ...
Si vous etes interesses par le dossier, ou desirez en savoir plus, contactez-moi par mail, et je vous mettrai en contact.
Best regards,Jane, CEO of high availability systems
Posted by janee
at May 18, 2011 12:56 AM