***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** "Sweet November" gets off to a bumpy start. Charlize Theron's character is first established as sort of a...well...borderline psychopath. Theron bumps into Keanu Reeves during a DMV exam. The two of them have a weird encounter in the parking lot. Later on, that night, she shows up at his apartment. He doesn't know how the hell she got his address. Since she failed the DMV exam, she asks him for a ride. Now, at this point, he should be terrified at this woman! He barely knows her and suddenly she asks him for a favor? After a long period of arguing, he finally succumbs to this favor. Then she breaks into this building and steals a dog. At this point Keanu should be even more terrified! But he keeps driving her. She invites him up to her place for cocoa. Again a conflict he finally succumbs to. She explains the whole "Spend a Month With Me and I'll Change Your Life" deal. Of course, at first he says no. He's a workaholic with no time for this crap. He makes a bad presentation for his advertising firm, he loses his temper and his job. Then he thinks, "What the hell. I'll go to this crazy b*tch's place and see what this is all about." He obviously can't stand her at first. The way she lives such a simple life, totally contradictory to his. Night falls, things heat up and the two of them are already in the sack! Now that's just a cheap attempt to have two hot actors heat up the screen. Keanu's character can't even stand being near her, yet he's suddenly ripping her clothes off and tackling her to the couch? Another one of those only-in-the-movies moments.
Luckily, the film's appeal increases as it goes along. The performances by the two leads are strong, though I can't help but feel Charlize was a little miscast. For some reason, I don't picture her nebbish character as a beautiful woman with no facial blemishes. I mean, even Gwyneth Paltrow was convincing in "Bounce," because they didn't try to make her look beautiful. Half of the film she's wearing hardly any makeup. But that's a flaw I was able to look over. The point is the two characters are so likable and the two actors have such a cute chemistry that I couldn't hate this movie (past the 30-minute mark). The moments they share are genuine, and though I don't think Keanu's character arc would've been generated quite so successfully I was willing to look that over as well. Yes, this is moderately standard Hollywood fluff, but it works. And I was oddly captivated.
I also wish I could've been given a better explanation about Charlize's whole "Spend a Month With Me" deal. It's a pretty strange concept, and something that should've been explained with more detail. You mean EVERY month she can actually get a guy to live with her, no strings attached? As if she's a guardian angel and she just patrols the streets of San Francisco looking for her next customer, who seemingly needs help? And I'm sure, out of all those guys, Keanu is not the first one she had actual feelings for. Women are more libidinous than you think. I also wanted a better explanation of the Jason Isaacs character. Was he gay or what? Maybe I misinterpreted, but did him and Charlize use to go out? Is he bisexual? And what was that whole family crisis that Charlize had to deal with? There's a good deal of loose ends in this story that were either not clearly explained or not explained at all. And this is not a Hitchcock thriller, so you can't tell me the characters and plotlines were meant to be enigmatic.
I have to say, I did appreciate the ending. It wasn't overly sentimental, and I still found it sad and touching. And it sort of left things open-ended. One of those "Where Do I Go From Here?" conclusions. But someone did point out something interesting--the trailers almost ruined the film! You see, in the ads, Charlize lying in hospital bed with her face completely pale. Geez, I wonder what to expect? I assumed the plot was Charlize was dying and she wanted to spend the last days of her life with Keanu. It's times like this I wish they stuck with the teaser trailers.
"Sweet November" is not a great movie, but it's sad, touching, sometimes funny and contains two fine performances. It has an odd appeal to it. One of those films you want to keep on watching for no explicit reason. You don't know why you're into it, you just are. Maybe it's a guilty pleasure, maybe not. Who knows? But I'd be a lying, pretentious snob if I were to say I didn't like it. This is just my take.
My score: 7 (out of 10)
Luckily, the film's appeal increases as it goes along. The performances by the two leads are strong, though I can't help but feel Charlize was a little miscast. For some reason, I don't picture her nebbish character as a beautiful woman with no facial blemishes. I mean, even Gwyneth Paltrow was convincing in "Bounce," because they didn't try to make her look beautiful. Half of the film she's wearing hardly any makeup. But that's a flaw I was able to look over. The point is the two characters are so likable and the two actors have such a cute chemistry that I couldn't hate this movie (past the 30-minute mark). The moments they share are genuine, and though I don't think Keanu's character arc would've been generated quite so successfully I was willing to look that over as well. Yes, this is moderately standard Hollywood fluff, but it works. And I was oddly captivated.
I also wish I could've been given a better explanation about Charlize's whole "Spend a Month With Me" deal. It's a pretty strange concept, and something that should've been explained with more detail. You mean EVERY month she can actually get a guy to live with her, no strings attached? As if she's a guardian angel and she just patrols the streets of San Francisco looking for her next customer, who seemingly needs help? And I'm sure, out of all those guys, Keanu is not the first one she had actual feelings for. Women are more libidinous than you think. I also wanted a better explanation of the Jason Isaacs character. Was he gay or what? Maybe I misinterpreted, but did him and Charlize use to go out? Is he bisexual? And what was that whole family crisis that Charlize had to deal with? There's a good deal of loose ends in this story that were either not clearly explained or not explained at all. And this is not a Hitchcock thriller, so you can't tell me the characters and plotlines were meant to be enigmatic.
I have to say, I did appreciate the ending. It wasn't overly sentimental, and I still found it sad and touching. And it sort of left things open-ended. One of those "Where Do I Go From Here?" conclusions. But someone did point out something interesting--the trailers almost ruined the film! You see, in the ads, Charlize lying in hospital bed with her face completely pale. Geez, I wonder what to expect? I assumed the plot was Charlize was dying and she wanted to spend the last days of her life with Keanu. It's times like this I wish they stuck with the teaser trailers.
"Sweet November" is not a great movie, but it's sad, touching, sometimes funny and contains two fine performances. It has an odd appeal to it. One of those films you want to keep on watching for no explicit reason. You don't know why you're into it, you just are. Maybe it's a guilty pleasure, maybe not. Who knows? But I'd be a lying, pretentious snob if I were to say I didn't like it. This is just my take.
My score: 7 (out of 10)