directed by Christos Nikou
First difficult case of the year – I like it! So, today’s film has rather average ratings and also a lot of negative reviews. So I was curious, because the description made me believe I’d enjoy such story. Besides, the three main actors are also very much appreciated by me, so I was wondering what went wrong. This will be purely my opinion, so feel free to watch the film and create your own, but generally, I think it’s a title worth your attention. It’s a sci-fi drama focusing on human relations, which is the type of films I personally love. There’s something fascinating about keeping human nature in such futuristic/fictional world run by AI or other kinds of technologies. Anyway, in this story we meet Anna (Jessie Buckley), who gets a job as a love instructor. Wondering what that is? Well, in this reality, couples can undergo a test which shows their compatibility. In order to check that, both partners have to give their, watch out, fingernails (one per person) and this specific machine that looks like a microwave will give them the answer. It’s sci-fi, don’t ask, simply accept. Unfortunately, a lot of couples have been getting negative results, which led to numerous break-ups and divorces. That is why there’s such place like Love Institute where couples can do some exercises and perhaps strengthen their relation before the test. And here’s Anna, who’s just started working at the Institute and mostly cooperates with another instructor, Amir (Riz Ahmed). They get along very well, but they’re just colleagues, because Anna is in a relationship with Ryan (Jeremy Allen White), with whom they already passed the test with a positive result. However, the longer she works at the Institute, the more she analyses the people and their compatibility. Sometimes, despite having a great intuition and positive feelings about certain couples, they turn out not to be a good match. Then comes Amir, with whom Anna can discuss her doubts, which definitely brings those two closer. But nothing should happen since she’s already in a happy relationship, right? I mean… right? And here I’m leaving you with this question, for which you’ll find the answer in the film. I have to admit that the form of the film isn’t much satisfying, sorry for being honest, but the idea is brilliant. Imagine living in such reality where a certain test tells you whom to date or share your life with. And no matter what you feel, you’re highly recommended to respect the result and match only with compatible partners. Would you trust such test? Those who are in happy relationships would perhaps say “no”, but what about forever singles? Since you cannot find a decent second half, perhaps your intuition is tricking you and such test would be a blessing? That is why I love such films – because even if they are set in unrealistic realities, they always give us a lot of food for thought about our own life. The script could have been a bit more exciting, I agree, but in the end, I finished the film feeling intrigued, so I give a thumb up.
My rating: 6/10
S.
I have nothing to watch 