Erin (Hope Davis) watches her live-in, environmental-activist boyfriend callously walk out on her (damn those waffle-stomping tree-huggers!) as the movie opens. With a push from her mother, who places a personal ad for her, she unenthusiastically re-enters the dating pool. Meanwhile, missing her by a hair on subways and street corners, is the guy that you know is just *perfect* for her, Alan (Alan Gelfant), himself dealing with loneliness and trying to find a new path for himself in the world. Both settle for temporary romance, she with a Brazilian smoothie who charms her with bossa nova, he with a younger classmate who makes Monica Lewinsky look like a Rhodes-scholar nun (there was no point to this sentence except to shove in that last analogy).
Both lead characters are immensely appealing. Hope Davis has a perpetually wistful look to her that sets her apart from the perky, shallow starlets usually in this type of film. Alan Gelfant has a wonderfully rugged face and stunning eyes (excuse me while I gush). Both seem older and, sadly, wiser -- their loneliness, seriousness, and uncertainty are etched into their faces. But this makes the pay-off, the face-to-face meeting we know is coming all along, unexpectedly fresh and endearing -- you can actually see the relief, the giddiness, the sheer awe at making a connection, illuminate their faces. Part of the delight in seeing the admittedly predictable meeting is that up till now, despite their half-hearted attempts at romance, they clearly never believed they'd fall for someone ever again -- the magic comes from seeing them drop their mature, resigned faces and turn into speechless, astonished teenagers getting their first taste of infatuation.
I can't really put it into words, but something about this movie just enchanted me. I was actually too enraptured by it to take my eyes off the screen to jot down notes for my review. The close-ups, the contemplative mood, the slightly jerky hand-held camera shots all make you feel like you're sitting next to these characters, and their worries, not just about love but about where their lives are going, are painfully familiar. I'm still in a bit of a dreamy fog over it. Absolutely, definitely go see this movie.
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