Almost In Love

Writer/Director Sam Neave’s Almost In Love is a very interesting independent movie that deserves attention.

The story is told in two 40-minute parts, each of which was filmed in a single camera take. 

                                                                                  Cinematographer Daniel McKeown has done an incredible job to accomplish that and deserves to catch the eye of masterful Director Joe Wright, who is known for his long single-take scenes in films like Atonement and Hanna.

Characters move in and out of the scenes as smoothly as in Robert Altman’s Gosford Park and professional and non-actor alike speak so naturally, it's as if everything was improvised.  That's Director Neave's achievement.

Almost In Love is an almost love story the point of which is that nothing is ever perfect. There are just some transitory perfect moments, at best.

The only problem with this film is that I didn’t really like any of the characters.  The men were basically self-centered bores and the women, though interesting and attractive, obviously had severe emotional issues that allowed them to be attracted to these losers.  But, I will admit I felt the same way about Ang Lee’s The Ice Storm and, mystery to me,  a lot of people seemed to think that was a good film. 

Here, at least, though likable characters or not, there is an ingenuity that demands a viewing and Sam Neave is a director worth getting to know.

I give Almost In Love a 3+ out of 5.

N.Y. viewers can find it at the reRun in Dumbo and L.A. viewers can see it next week at the Downtown Independent.