The Dame's Review

Written by by dear friend 'The Dame'...

I've taken it upon myself to indulge in a few blog entries to stand in for dear old Tainted who is in the thicket of exams at the moment. Poor boy.

My first effort is a film review. A film everyone must see.

Wicker Park

When desire becomes deceit and passion becomes possession.

A story of love in all its many forms - obsessional, delusional, the quickness with which it can consume you, uncontrollable, and long lasting. The story involves one Mr Josh Hartnett (one of very few men on this planet who could turn even me), who works in a photography shop, and who believes that all things innately beautiful can be captured on film. One day whilst filming in the street he captures a woman, the gorgeous Diane Kruger, who is his One. They indulge in a love affair that consumes them both and the audience.

It is a love that comes along rarely. They walk together in the park, dance together, create their special place, indulge in every day activities together that we all take for granted and do not see the beauty in, culminating in a night of passion - after which their love only seems to prosper. He asks her to move in with him and although she knows she is going to accept wholeheartedly, before she has chance to do so, she goes away on a trip leaving that all important letter with her 'best friend'. The letter of course does not get to Mr Hartnett and he is left heartbroken and confused as to why the girl for him appears to have left without explanation.

The story is very cleverly told from the perspectives of all characters and the audience is predictably left in the dark until the very end as to what really happened. The couple are kept apart by the 'best friend' unbeknown to them both and it is difficult to watch at some points, with the couple missing each other by seconds whilst going about their lives.

Upon watching the film for the first time (and come to think of it, the numerous times since then) I am always struck by the questions: what happened to this all consuming type of love? Why are only some people blessed with true love? and What ingredients were present here to make these two characters know they were meant to be together? Ultimately, what is true love?

The couple are separated for 2 years, him thinking she had disappeared without explanation and her thinking (with help from the 'best friend') that he hadn't replied to her letter as he had slept with someone else. And yet they never give up hope of finding each other again. He tries to see another girl but his every waking moment he is thinking of her, chasing clues to try and find her. She sees other men but never gives up hope that he will come back to her.

I am always amazed that upon their reconcilliation in a busy airport, just as she is about to leave for good, it's almost as if they haven't even been apart. The look, the way they hold each other, the way they kiss - all take place whilst the resonating genius that is Coldplay's The Scientist chimes away in the background, never failing to bring a tear to the eye. How often do we really see that and why don't we see more of it? It's an exceptional piece of acting on the part of Hartnett and Kruger because as the viewer you actually believe they are in love (of course this is helped along some by the clever camera work and jigsaw style delivery of the story which gives an almost poetic feel to the film). Quite simply the film is venustus exquisitus validus...

Although the dominating theme is the romance between Hartnett and Kruger, events are also considered from the point of view of the 'best friend' in the piece. In this respect the film demonstrates quite nicely that love can also be destructive. The best friend wants what she cannot have, namely Hartnett, and it breaks her. Of course, it is not intended that we feel sorry for her because this is a consequence of her own design. However, the viewer does feel a sense of sorrow for her because she is holding on to something that does not want her anymore.

There are a lot of films out there that try to uncover the meaning of love and what it means to feel that way for someone else - but this certainly is one of the more beautiful of those films. Perhaps I'm bias because I like a film that provokes questions, like films that get me thinking and this certainly does that, hence the positive review.

And its not just because Josh Hartnett is the lead male.


I went to the seaside today (and sat in the sun with my book and notebook for most of the day). I find the sun therapeutic. Here's something to make you smile, my father is quite possibly the only person I know who needs a pair of elastic bands to hold his plimsolls together whilst visiting the sea...made me smile anyway...

-The Dame-