The Broken Hearts Gallery (2020)

The Broken Hearts Gallery: Directed by Natalie Krinsky. With Geraldine Viswanathan, Dacre Montgomery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Molly Gordon. After a break-up, a young woman decides to start a gallery where people can leave trinkets from past relationships.

“The familiar rom-com beats are too hard to ignore in The Broken Hearts Gallery, but what holds it all together is a spunky little (lead) performance from Geraldine Viswanathan (who plays Lucy, an art gallery assistant). With a plot thatu0026#39;s tailor-made for a romantic comedy (it has got a lot to do with Lucyu0026#39;s heartbreaks and the souvenirs she keeps from those broken relationships), The Broken Hearts Gallery makes the city of New York look like a standout character. Darc Montgomery plays Nick, the owner of a work-in-progress hotel, who bumps into Lucy in a rather unusual meet-cute. Their second (chance) encounter felt contrived as hell though.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhen the duo decides to convert part of the hotel space into a gallery for exhibiting souvenirs from relationships that fell through, the film picks up speed, charm, and some romantic vibes. I didnu0026#39;t expect many surprises in the screenplay (which occasionally descends into downright cheesiness) but what bothered me was the distinct lack of humor. Here and there, we get a chuckle or two, courtesy of the largely silent Jeff (Nathan Dales), Eva Woolf (a spirited Bernadette Peters), and Marcos (Arturo Castro). The Broken Hearts Gallery wholly rides on Geraldineu0026#39;s star-making role and the chemistry she shares with Dacre (which was fine in parts, yes!).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhile the inclusion of multi-ethnic (thereu0026#39;s Utkarsh Ambudkar playing Max Vora, presumably of Indian origin) and LGBTQ (Philippa Soo plays Nadine, a lesbian) characters is commendable, they often recede conveniently into the background for the central plot to play out. Itu0026#39;s not a bad film by any measure (Alar Kivilou0026#39;s cinematography is a plus); The Broken Hearts Gallery, written and directed by Natalie Krinsky, is certainly one for audiences who savor their romantic comedies with a tolerable dose of clichés and syrupy feels.”