This social comedy is filled with stellar moments of improvisation--not full-out improvisation, but the relaxed digressions and contemplative pauses that keep a conversation going, while broadening its reach. The actors radiate with reactive engagement, using the screenplay's signposts of story to draw insight and comic grievance from the core of their characters. Beyond that, their performances mine instances of deadpan humor, keeping faith with the issues at hand and ribbing the many egos in the mix.
True to its title, Wherever Two contains a series of pairings, often framed in 'two shots', where people--allies, adversaries, assorted pilgrims of purpose--assert root beliefs and suspicions, even as they interact toward the possibilities of consensus. Such interaction sparks off-the-cuff responses within the frame, yielding expressions of insight and epiphany. Eyes expand and engage, faces crinkle, and gazes linger to envelop the dialogue in unspoken feeling that resonates.
Driving a tale centered on an existing deal--a developer's pledge to provide affordable apartments in exchange for building variances on a luxury project--the linking of two empathetic, yet quarrelsome, protagonists in a related investigation gives the picture diverting scenes of discovery. Attorney Henry Collier (Christopher Morgan) and dancer-reporter Teresa Roman (Sandra Rivera) team up out of allied purpose and eventual need. Per the old adage--wherever two join in agreement, results follow--Collier and Roman go forth on a path both twisted and entertaining, requiring on-the-fly assessments and course corrections. Searching and seeking, he nimbly modulates his lawyerly manner to navigate the spectrum of personalities encountered. She brings a dancer's timing to the pushing of pace in prodding for action and enlivens the proceedings by occasionally dancing up a storm. The two actors succeed in creating a yin and yang dynamism: a wise but wary conveyor of counsel complements a choreographer of movement sure of her counts.
Other standout performers include Joe Carfagna (energized) as a reverend heading up a non-profit, Tony Iglesias (excellent) as a go-getting community leader and realty operator, Hank Poje (forceful) as a self-centered property owner, Pam Myette (caring) as a soup kitchen director, Yienan Song (spirited) as an aggrieved tenant, Manuel Garcia (deflective) as a dance promoter, Paul Myette (humorous) as a poetic voice of conscience, and Richard Virga (on the nose) as a fundraising guru. True-to-life commitment lifts the performances of Natsu Ifill as a grant administrator and Lucy Knopf as a social services advocate; Ifill's clipped comments speak volumes, and Knopf's eyes contain multitudes. Anthony Moscini and Rick Poli deliver a crisp and cryptic debate as a banker and debtor, respectively, with Moscini's eyebrows and Poli's tight lips facing off in a contrapuntal clash.
Music supervisor Myron 'Mike' Moss has given the picture a catchy soundtrack that elevates the story and attaches a bouncing rhythm to the fine work of the cast. Cinematographer Leo Holder has an eye for varied and evocative settings across the northern exposure of Manhattan and captures crowded interior scenes with elan.
