ButItsFemaleStarIsTheReasonToSeeIt

Review:ItMayBeCalled‘HowHeFellinLove,’ButItsFemaleStarIsTheReasonToSeeItAmyHargreavesanchorsthisthoughtfullookatanevolvingaffairbetweenayoungmusicianandamarriedwoman.作者：SteveGreeneJul8,201611:45am@stevebruin“HowHeFellinLove”Thetitleofwriter/directorMarcMeyers’thirdfeaturefilmisacuriousthing.Ratherthanfixateononehalfofarelationship,“HowHeFellinLove”insteadbecomesamuchfullerlookathowarelationshiptravelsfromcasualacquaintancesintounanticipatedterritory.WithasharpfocusonanevolvingrelationshipbetweenTravis(MattMcGorry),anamblingpart-timemusicianandEllen,amarriedyogastudioinstructor,Meyersforegoeseasyjudgmentorcondemnationtogiveafullviewofalovewithconsequences.Skillfullytrackingtheemotionalparabolaoftheiraffair,“HowHeFellinLove”givesbreathingroomtoeachstageoftheirinteractions,beginningwiththeirchancemeetingatawedding.Asthetwospendtimetogether,casuallyflirtinginsidetheyogastudioandbeyond,theircodedparsingofcluesanddiscussionswithfriendsafterwardshelpwidenthescopeoftheirpotentialromanticinvolvement.Earlyonintheirfriendship,whenTravisvisitsEllen’shouseforamarketresearchsurvey,MeyersswitchestothefootageonTravis’workhandheldcamera;it’slikeanauditiontapeforalife-alteringromance.McGorryplaysTravisasasubduedromanticchameleon,adaptingtobothEllen’sfullaffectionandthefleetingattentionofoldflameMonica(BritneOldford).Hisstagnation,bothinhismusiccareerandhisdayjob,makesthemutualsparksbetweenheandEllenallthemorefulfilling.Asthewomancaughtbetweentwodifferentkindsoflove,it’sHargreaveswhoreallyshineshere,conveyingEllen’sconfidencetotakewhatshewants.Hargreaves’bestmomentsfindEllenrevelinginhernewfoundhappiness,butacknowledgingthatthisdiscoveryistingedwithanexpirationdate:Eitherthefling’sorhermarriage’s.DespiteTravisandEllen’sbreezy,walk-and-talkchemistry,Meyerswiselyprizesthemomentswhenthetwoaretradingwordlessglances,tryingtodeciphereachother’sinturn.Inthemomentsbeforethetwogotobedtogetherforthefirsttime,theirsilentundressingrevealsmoreaboutthepairthananyportent-filleddialoguecould.It’srefreshingtoseeMeyerstrustthatnaturalinteractiontocarrythestoryalong—despiteTravis’musicalaspirations,thefilm’sscoreissparse.Asthetwosettleintoacomfortablecycleofillicitmeet-ups,MeyersmakessuretokeepEllen’sweddingbandinframe,evenwhenshe’snotmakingapointtotakeitoff.Afterexistingonlyintheoryformuchofthefilm’sfirstthird,thearrivalofEllen’shusbandHenrycompletesthefilm’striangle.MarkBlumbringswelcomecalmtoHenry,evenasthecluesofTravisandEllen’srelationshipsbegintoseepintohishomeandsociallife.AsHenry’sskepticismfadesintosomethingmorecertain,MeyersandBlumavoidmakinghimatoo-obviousfoiltoTravis’youthfulreservedness.Asallofthemaincharactersopenlyacknowledgetheirshortcomings,itkeepstheirsituationfrombecomingamelodramaticcautionarytale.“HowHeFellinLove”isadistinctlyNewYorkstory,buttheproductiondesignbalancesthefamiliarManhattanexteriorswiththecounterintuitiveblankslatewhitenessofthecouple’sHolidayInnrendezvouspoint.Fromtheirfirstencounter,theromancecomesfromtheirconversationandemotionalconnection,ratherthananygrandgesture.Whenthetwofinallydecidetoswitchtheirpreferredvenuetosomewhereupstate,youcanseethecolorspopandthedrab,nondescripthotelwallpapergivewaytovibrant,verdantroadtripstops.Ellen’srelationshipwiththetwomainmeninherlifearen’tplayedagainsteachotherasaconvenientgood-love/bad-lovedistinction,butonewell-timedmatchcutdoesmarkthedifferenceinherdemeanoraroundherhusbandandherlover.ThatcomplicatedjugglingalsoworksthroughMeyers’observantscript,particularlyonedetailthatresurfaceswellafterit’sintroduced,beforetheaudiencecanrealizeitssignificance.Butinthefilm’shourofneed,aftersomeirreversiblecharacterchoices,“HowHeFellinLove”finallypaysoffitstitlebyfollowingthestonetossedinthepondratherthantheripples.Inlightofthefinely-balancedstorythatprecedesit,devotingmuchofthefilm’sclosingquarter-hourtoaredemptionthreadfeelsmisplaced.Still,TravisandEllen’sfinalmeetingretainsthebittersweethallmarksoftheirbestmomentselsewhere.Regardlessofwhoitsetsitssightson,“HowHeFellinLove”tellsacompletetalewithoutbeingtidy,fittingforatalerepresentativeoflove’sfickleness.本文版权归作者路过蜻蜓所有，任何形式转载请联系作者。