Liebe auf den zweiten Blick (2008)

Liebe auf den zweiten Blick: Directed by Joel Hopkins. With Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Eileen Atkins, Kathy Baker. In London for his daughter’s wedding, a rumpled man finds his romantic spirits lifted by a new woman in his life.

“Iu0026#39;m not really in the habit of investigating the astrological qualities of directors, but when I checked IMDbu0026#39;s bio for writer/director Joel Hopkins, I immediately noticed it says heu0026#39;s a Virgo. u0026quot;Ahhh,u0026quot; I said knowingly and leaned back, sipping on a chalice of cherry kool aid which I pretended was the blood of my enemies. Iu0026#39;m a scorpio.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe stereotypical male Virgo qualities read like a description of the main character and the filmu0026#39;s tone in general: u0026quot;Quiet, undemonstrative and introvert. Gentle, helpful and sympathetic by nature, the Virgo men often face criticism for being finicky as they are very particular about how they want things to be.u0026quot;u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Last Chance Harveyu0026quot; is a quiet, undemonstrative and introverted film with a gentleness and precise delivery. Itu0026#39;s the story of a couple of u0026quot;5th wheelsu0026quot; (played by Dustin Hoffman u0026amp; Emma Thompson) who suffer the daily indignity of slowly realizing that they donu0026#39;t fit in anywhere. Dustinu0026#39;s character is a divorced, failed father who has been squeezed out of his family by a more capable new step father in the mix. He is a TV composer by trade, but his archaic, old school approach has become obsolete in light of the snappier, edgier kids taking over the industry. He doesnu0026#39;t seem to have any friends or any life at all. Emma plays a similar character; she has a job as a survey taker at the airport where every day she is ignored or brushed aside by the thousands of people with more important schedules. Sheu0026#39;s single, awkward, cynical, and is the kind of person who ends up on dates with men who donu0026#39;t notice when she leaves.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe movie asks the question: do these people have what it takes to break out of their rut? Or will they forever be hopeless schleps feeling sorry for themselves and embracing obscurity? Itu0026#39;s obvious what they should do, but will they do it? And thatu0026#39;s the mystery that makes this an interesting and original romcom.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAlso thereu0026#39;s the fact that there arenu0026#39;t a whole lot of romcoms about late-40 and 50-something characters, let alone with great actors like this, so that itself is a novelty.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnother bonus is some very nice London scenery. Is it me, or do all romcoms happen in New York City or LA these days? London, thereu0026#39;s a refreshing change. And it was nice (albeit a little unrealistic) to see bright, sunny days in every shot, really highlighting the urban charm.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSo, like the Virgo description, thereu0026#39;s not a lot of flashy drama, pizazz, car chases and crazy hijinks in this film. The humor is low key and u0026quot;Britishu0026quot; (for example, an ongoing subplot is Emmau0026#39;s cloistered mother who is convinced that their new neighbor is a creepy serial killer, so she stands at the window staring at him all day). And the u0026quot;conflictu0026quot; in Dustin u0026amp; Emmau0026#39;s relationship isnu0026#39;t any great plot twist but rather the simple question of whether theyu0026#39;re so entrenched in misery that theyu0026#39;ll sabotage their own chance for happiness.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDustin u0026amp; Emma displayed a great on-screen chemistry, not unlike they briefly had (just 1 scene) in the excellent film u0026quot;Stranger than Fictionu0026quot; a few years earlier. In fact, after seeing this movie I had to google if they were an item in real life. Alas, apparently not.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn the end it was nothing in particular that made this an enjoyable film, but rather it was all the little exceptional qualities like the ones Iu0026#39;ve mentioned that made this a winner. If you like this sort of stuff.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIf, on the other hand, you find yourself wanting a somewhat more spontaneous, impetuous, explosive movie to watch, check out an Aries director like Quentin Tarantino.”