My Last Five Girlfriends

Four stars because Brendan Patricks is cute; this character could easily be EXTREMELY annoying, but he never is, not for one second.

The theme park gimmick is sort of clever, and the red boots are hilarious. I laughed out loud. Otherwise this movie is mostly tiresome and occasionally irritating - especially the WAY-TOO-LONG final section with Naomie Harris.

But then I'm gay; I like women, and I admire them a lot, but the notion of being attracted to them sexually is weird. I can usually get around that hurdle when watching straight movies, but for some reason I couldn't with this one.

I noticed this movie scheduled on TV in a time slot that, shall we say, is not where you find blockbusters and Oscar winners. I was intrigued by the widely disparate opinions here on IMDB, so I gave it a watch. Outwardly, it's very much like 500 Days of Summer, from a decade before, in that it jumps from milestone to milestone, and into fantasy, as the protagonist sincerely tries to make his love life work. It is full of cute touches and situations that make it look like the kind of movie Hollywood markets to couples, but I'm glad that I saw it alone because it digs a little too deep into the issue of human nature, raising questions that I think most couples like to leave unasked for the sake of smooth sailing. Maybe that unsettling aspect is why the film didn't exactly catch fire at the box office. I think it's a creditable job of work, though.

Romantic comedies often promise neat endings and soulmates found by the closing credits, but 'The Last Five Girlfriends' gleefully dismantles that formula. Loosely adapted from Alain De Botton's 'Essays in Love', this inventive British indie turns one man's emotional collapse into a surreal, self-aware romp through his past relationships.

Brendan Patricks plays Duncan, a self-proclaimed "martyr of love", and a man who can't work out why his romances keep failing. Rather than wallow, he retreats into his imagination, where each of his five ex-girlfriends becomes part of a deranged amusement park called "Duncan World" - a metaphorical theme park of heartbreak, regret, and self-recrimination. As rides malfunction and attractions collapse, Duncan is forced to confront the messy truth: he's the common denominator in every disaster.

Director Julian Kemp injects the film with wit and visual creative audacity. The tone swings between romantic farce and absurdist fantasy, blending sketches, flashbacks, and musical interludes with unapologetic eccentricity. Some sequences soar with genuine insight, others teeter on the edge of chaos, but that unevenness feels oddly fitting for a story about the confusion of modern love.

'The Last Five Girlfriends' won't charm everyone; its surreal humour and fragmented storytelling can be baffling if you're expecting conventional rom-com rhythm. Yet beneath its oddball style lies a surprisingly mature reflection on how we carry the ghosts of past relationships. The film's final image, Duncan's imaginary world collapsing as he finally lets go, is both funny and strangely touching.

It may not rewrite the rulebook on romance, but it has the courage to admit that sometimes, the hardest relationship to fix is the one you have with yourself.

"You'll probably wind up sitting next to the cast and crew" suggested the marketing blurb on the Edinburgh International Film Festival poster; an unlikely overstatement I thought, until I went to this little gem of a film, and the bloke in the next seat along turned out to be the Directory of Photography. Indeed, a healthy smattering of the cast and crew pitched up for the film's second showing, and fair play to them for taking the trouble.

I'm not really a great one for rom-coms, this was a definite wife-pick and I went in with limited expectations. However, it didn't take long for a fairly rapid re-appraisal. The basic premise - a series of takes on why some relationships don't work out from the perspective of a slightly geeky bloke (apparently, this is grossly unfair as my wife informs me that he's pretty hot stuff) – is not desperately original, but the manner of its execution is both well above the average and decidedly original.

The film is crammed with witty and ingenious ideas – the Barbie doll vignette to summarise the 'girl on a plane' back-story is inspired, as is the Theme Park concept of a different ride for each girlfriend. Nice. The cameos are perfectly-pitched, in particular Michael Sheen and Johnny Ball, and the effervescent Vitamin C tablet fake ending was equally well-judged. The pace is fast and there's little, if any, slack in the tight script – indeed, if I had a minor grumble, it would be that I felt the film would have benefited from a little more time spent on character development of girlfriends 1-4.

Effective as a comedy on a number of levels, it even managed to slot in some painful relationship truisms – the 'cereal box' effect at the start of a relationship, yet another clever idea – that had the audience chuckling in knowing appreciation.

It left me wanting more, and I hope that commercial success beckons, because this film thoroughly merits it. 7/10 (which is admittedly a bit mean, and more down to me not really liking the genre).

I had no knowledge of the novel by Alain de Botton on which this is based, but I had previously watched several of his TV programs. While I was watching the film something someone was saying would occasionally remind me of the writer's (Botton's) psychological (and philosophical) interests. There was, however, ample drama for me to be able to feel empathy for most of the characters, as well as enough unexpected plot 'surprises' to maintain my desire to find out what would happen next. Visually I tended to find there was rather more use of distorting lenses in the cinematography than I am used to (or, personally, comfortable with), but having said that I can also see why their use may be reasonably justified. Fairly understated but nonetheless enthusiastic performances from most of the actors and actresses. Definitely well worth the time spent watching.