April 14, 2026
Museum curator Charlie Thompson (Robert Pattinson) approached bookstore clerk Emma Harwood (Zendaya) when he saw her reading a book in a New England cafe, and tried to engage her in a conversation. Emma totally paid him no attention which made him retreat, only to try again. It turned out that Emma was deaf in her right ear which caused her to ignore him the first time. When they got to talking, the two of them got along very, very well.
This was the flow of the story in the first few minutes of the film. By the time we reach the opening credits, they were already engaged and practicing their wedding dance with their instructor. After the credits, they had dinner with best man Mike (Mamoudou Athie) and maid of honor Rachel (Alana Haim), who were to married to each other. When the topic turned to the worst thing they've ever done, their conversation became very, very awkward.
This could be the most sneaky curve ball ever thrown by a movie. Nothing in the meet-cute of the opening sequence could prepare you for where the film will take you for the next hour and half. What you thought would be a pleasant romantic comedy film turned out to be a most unpleasant psychological horror film. The virtual whiplash caught us unaware, it took time for me to get my bearings back, but it just remained very uncomfortable all the way through.
Much of the discomfort we feel stemmed from the very emotionally-naked performances of Zendaya and Robert Pattinson. One of them was forced to confront an ugly truth about the other, a mere four days to go before their wedding day. Both of them clearly showed the depth of their love for each other, while deep in shock and dismay over the revelation. Charlie's speech was as rock bottom as it gets -- this was Pattinson at his most vulnerable, so good.
How bad was that "worse thing" in the confession, really? Writer-director Kristoffer Borgli made sure it was drilled into our heads that this thing was truly horrendous. I thought Rachel's outrage was over-the-top excessive. Charlie's friend Misha (Hailey Gates) saying she will report that person to the police was illogical. I feel our lead couple was unjustly tormented over something that had already long been suppressed in the subconscious. 7/10
No comments:
Post a Comment