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Worthwhile Kiss
Alex Holdridge's In Search of a Midnight Kiss is the best twenty-something relationship movie I've seen in a long time. It's almost a breakthrough film in that "twentysomething relationship movie" tends to mean something vapid and broadly stupid (i.e., humiliation humor, body-function jokes) with Anna Faris or Dane Cook or something along those lines. And this is quite the other thing.
Midnight Kiss is a dry and recognizably human thing, "real" and uncloying, youngish and yet seasoned, sharply written and believably acted except for two supporting performances. I have some minor issues with it, but it's easily the most engaging film of its type to come along since I don't know when.
It's set in Los Angeles and is certainly an "L.A. movie" through and through. One of its virtues, perhaps its principal virtue, is Robert Murphy's black-and-white photography, which has some of the most romantic silvery images of big city since Gordon Willis's work in Woody Allen's Manhattan. Murphy's photography is of downtown L.A. with a little Silver Lake and deep Hollywood thrown in.
And yet Los Angeles seems to be the only hip town it hasn't played in yet. ISATMK has been on the worldwide festival circuit since April 2007 (starting with the Tribeca Film Festival), and has opened in New York, Cambridge, San Francisco, Seattle, Berkeley, Washington, D.C....you name it. It finally opens here next Friday.
I'm hoping to do a sitdown with Holdridge and the cast (Scoot McNairy, Sara Simmonds) on Tuesday, or maybe the day before or after.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on August 15, 2008 at 1:32 PM
comment #1
MikeSchaeferSF says ...
It's an IFC thing, and they're notorious for opening films gingerly, if at all. Like so many of their films, it's available on cable thru their pay-per-view platform even as we speak, so theatrical releases are almost an afterthought for them. But thanks for confirming that it's worth seeing -- I'll definitely catch up with it on PPV this week.
Posted by MikeSchaeferSF at August 15, 2008 2:46 PM
comment #2
BurmaShave says ...
That trailer made my skin crawl. Far too much of that pretentious shit actually gets said by people I know everyday. They nailed us. Interesting look too.
Posted by BurmaShave at August 15, 2008 3:16 PM
comment #3
Zimmergirl says ...
You're one step ahead of me, Burma. It made me want to poke my eyes out with a ice pick. There have been so many of these movies made...But I'm not the target demo and perhaps it will inspire other 20-somethings to ponder their own lives, yadda yadda yadda.
Posted by Zimmergirl at August 15, 2008 4:02 PM
comment #4
Edward says ...
Maybe it's because I'm well beyond the 20-something demographic, but this looks interesting. I am a sucker for black and white cinematography.
Posted by Edward at August 15, 2008 4:26 PM
comment #5
Clark Perry says ...
I was surprised how much I dug this when I saw it at the LA Film Festival last fall. Emotionally affecting story, strong performances, a glimpse of life in LA that doesn't fall into the usual cliches.
And they pulled this thing off on a shoestring, shooting on weekends with a 3-person crew, actors and camera jumping out of cars to film around LA without any permits whatsoever. It's an inspiring movie in many ways.
Posted by Clark Perry at August 15, 2008 5:05 PM
comment #6
Edward says ...
Clark's info makes me even more interested in this.
Posted by Edward at August 15, 2008 6:41 PM
comment #7
Chris D. says ...
Just got home from seeing it in NYC. Terrific little film. And I am definitely not the demo. Glad someone is still making them. Where can I find out more about the production.
Posted by Chris D. at August 15, 2008 9:47 PM
comment #8
Clark Perry says ...
Oops, it was the AFI Fest I saw this at, not LAFF.
Here's a short piece from the No-Budget Film School I found:
"Director Alex Holdridge, inspired by his cameraman friend's pronouncement that he had just purchased a Sony Z1 HDV camera, wrote the 130 page script in two weeks and immediately got his actor buddies together and started shooting. The $12,000 film was shot in a total of 16 days. Working with a tiny crew and wireless mics, Holdridge shot all over Los Angeles without permits--in restaurants, subways, downtown streets, the Orpheum Theater, the Disney Concert Hall, the Santa Monica Ferris wheel, and other public spaces. A kind of a modern romantic comedy, (as one review says, "mixing romance with frank sex talk"), Holdridge chose to release the film in B&W to give it a timeless quality, and frankly, Los Angeles has never looked so interesting. He achieved winning performances from his talented but unknown cast, with which he has worked on several films. "Midnight Kiss" premiered at Tribeca, (which explains why it wasn't here in June), and is getting a theatrical release in July 2008 through IFC Films. Not to be missed by no-budget filmmakers, comedy fans, and hopeless romantics."
http://nobudgetfilmschool.com/id11.html
Posted by Clark Perry at August 16, 2008 12:23 AM
comment #9
LYT says ...
The trailer doesn't do it justice. The movie's FULL of dirty jokes. I dug it like I dug Clerks 2 -- it gets at certain truths and is still really foul-mouthed and funny.
That said, I also think Ana Faris and Ryan Reynolds are a great onscreen couple, in both Waiting and Just Friends.
Posted by LYT at August 16, 2008 1:31 AM
comment #10
K. Bowen says ...
Better or worse than All the Real Girls?
Posted by K. Bowen at August 16, 2008 2:40 AM
comment #11
cjKennedy says ...
I saw it at AFI too. Like most trailers, the one for Midnight Kiss is largely a lie to convince you it's something you've seen before. I assure you it's better than that.
Be cynical about it if you want and skip it, but you're missing out on a pretty terrific and truly indie film.
Perfect? No way. The plot takes some tired turns that sort of kill its momentum, but it's funny, got some nice performances and remarkable B/W photography.
Posted by cjKennedy at August 16, 2008 1:20 PM
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