Review for

IT WAS ALWAYS ME

Reviewed by: Jean Bristowe
Grade: A-
Tips UK Studios 
Directed by: Amit Vaidya 
Written by: Amit Vaidya

IT WAS ALWAYS ME is an exercise in patience. It taunts the audience to reject the notion of conventionality yet indirectly uses every formula that exists in the Hollywood handbook. It's not quite certain what first-time director Amit Vaidya had in mind with the film. Classifying the piece is as difficult as figuring out when one character ends speaking and the next one begins. Perhaps that is the point of this relentless effort. Something that could be expressed in 5 minutes is stretched for 132 minutes.

There is enjoyment. If not for Marissa, Karim and Dylan but at least for the audience. The dialogue is far from insightful but arguably more realistic than any recent film dealing with Generation Y. Perhaps that is just the problem. Glossing a film does not make the film more interesting, it rather band-aids the weaknesses. The screenplay attempts to salvage the non-story by its continual use of flashback sequences. While the transitions themselves are inventive and the colour technique is novel, the tricks are not enough to better help the audience understand the characters.

The film begins with Marissa and Karim, two friends who seem right for each other and are roommates in an oh-so-trendy apartment in Tribeca, grieving the death of their third roommate and friend Dylan. There is a question of whether his death was an accident or suicide. This sets up a mystery-like unraveling where Marissa and Karim take turns remembering their journey together and with Dylan prior to his death. Sparks fly between Marissa and Dylan while Karim is left in the cold predominantly supporting the lazy Dylan.

As a U.N. translator, Karim seems unable to quite translate any of his feelings to anyone except a feeling of concern for the others. Marissa, the aspiring singer, seems to be trying everything without really doing anything. It's strange in a film where the two surviving characters are complete washouts. It's almost a delight that Dylan got away from these two self-loving, self-loathing friends.

As the self-destruction pattern is laid out for Dylan, it becomes increasingly difficult to understand how the Marissa and Karim characters didn't see the signs. Additionally, it seems less than remarkable for a last minute pep talk by a supposed friend of Dylan that Karim and Marissa know little about, coming to rid them of their guilt. And voila, the happy ending ensues for all involved.

After such harsh comments, it may seem odd that I would recommend the film and additionally give such a high rating. There are three simple reasons for that:

1. Performances - Vaidya may not have had the most solid idea but he was certainly able to create memorable performances from the main three characters. From Khan's underplayed performance as Karim to Dushku's vulnerable affection as Marissa to Sexton's brilliant performance as Dylan - this is an actor's film, and it shows in every inch of the screen. The dialogues come alive and manage to seem believable. That's quite an accomplishment especially given the prior performances of these often-typecast actors.

2. Music - Vaidya is known in many circles as a student of music. It shows. His ear for melody and the use of genre-busting contemporary music is energizing and pivotal to creating the mood. This reminds the audience how emotional something so unemotional can become during a film.

3. Unique - I respect any film that truly throws me for a loop. Not just in terms of story but everything. I had no idea what I was in store for with this film. It is a rarity that a film challenges me on so many levels. For that to transpire, something has to be right. In fact, a lot of it has to be right.

As stated above, I'm not sure what Vaidya's intent with this film was. The characters were not easily identifiable, the story was minimalistic and routines were often forced. Yet, there is an unspoken truth to the film that justifies all of that and more. It's hard to make a film that challenges the audience to think. It's even harder to make a film that challenges the characters to think. IT WAS ALWAYS ME does both and the challenge is trying to figure out what to think of that. That's why this film will standout.

A brilliant mastery of craft and commercialism well packaged together! -- Posted via http://web2news.com To contact in private, remove nn+o0spp7amm

==========
X-RAMR-ID: 34988
X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 1157725
X-RT-TitleID: 10002891
X-RT-AuthorID: 8572
X-RT-RatingText: A-

The review above was posted to the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due to ASCII to HTML conversion.