Minus Typical Hallmark Style, Chosen by Director
The storyline was clear and interesting. The script was pretty on point. The casting choices kept things interesting. While I appreciate them both for their individual acting, the casting and director choice made for a bit of awkwardness.
The Director: Without a doubt the Director is capable of great things, but there seems to be a decision made on the part of this Director that pushed away from the storyline and anticipated Hallmark style that caused a riff throughout the movie. The story opens with very individually-minded characters. That's fact. Then while Hallmark-lovers gear towards expecting chemistry to open and keep rolling, the Director seemed to decide a "no" to that. It kind of made me laugh. Its unexpected for the channel it was designed for, but it made for a wider appeal to a larger audience because the problems became the focus rather than the growth of the relationship as a main focus. Ex: Autumn's character says little about all she thinks (usually where relationships grow), instead you just see her gaze instead; so the audience does the thinking on her behalf. The same can be said for Tyler's character. I suppose this is where it won for LEO.
Hallmark's Casting: Autumn consistently plays very strong female characters. She is so strong with her acting that can often make any leading man pale in comparison. This is great when matched well, but not so well with Tyler, who's acting style is often calm and prefers not to play disruptive roles; basking in making the leading lady look good. I was surprised Casting chose them together, but the Director could have done more to help even out the personalities, yet didn't.
Characters: Autumn did excellent in her role, clearly revealing emotion exactly as on que by the Director. Tyler also excelled in his role of quickly earning respect and helping people accept change. I feel this role challenged him a bit and stretched his acting. That said, chemistry in this movie is all subtle, and qued by the Director's style as opposed to the story itself, so I couldn't buy into it. It never seemed possible enough to be real.
Other areas of film production: Cinematography was great, especially with all scenes outside the restaurant. Editing was fine. All production design was believable. However, I conclude the Script Editors may have needed some help in writing out the dailogue for critical portions (or rather, lack thereof).
The Director: Without a doubt the Director is capable of great things, but there seems to be a decision made on the part of this Director that pushed away from the storyline and anticipated Hallmark style that caused a riff throughout the movie. The story opens with very individually-minded characters. That's fact. Then while Hallmark-lovers gear towards expecting chemistry to open and keep rolling, the Director seemed to decide a "no" to that. It kind of made me laugh. Its unexpected for the channel it was designed for, but it made for a wider appeal to a larger audience because the problems became the focus rather than the growth of the relationship as a main focus. Ex: Autumn's character says little about all she thinks (usually where relationships grow), instead you just see her gaze instead; so the audience does the thinking on her behalf. The same can be said for Tyler's character. I suppose this is where it won for LEO.
Hallmark's Casting: Autumn consistently plays very strong female characters. She is so strong with her acting that can often make any leading man pale in comparison. This is great when matched well, but not so well with Tyler, who's acting style is often calm and prefers not to play disruptive roles; basking in making the leading lady look good. I was surprised Casting chose them together, but the Director could have done more to help even out the personalities, yet didn't.
Characters: Autumn did excellent in her role, clearly revealing emotion exactly as on que by the Director. Tyler also excelled in his role of quickly earning respect and helping people accept change. I feel this role challenged him a bit and stretched his acting. That said, chemistry in this movie is all subtle, and qued by the Director's style as opposed to the story itself, so I couldn't buy into it. It never seemed possible enough to be real.
Other areas of film production: Cinematography was great, especially with all scenes outside the restaurant. Editing was fine. All production design was believable. However, I conclude the Script Editors may have needed some help in writing out the dailogue for critical portions (or rather, lack thereof).
- ellieforfilm
- Jun 4, 2024