'Definitely, Maybe'

How wonderful to come out of a film feeling happy!  After last week’s viewing of ‘No Country for Old Men’ this is indeed a different feeling.  I can go to bed with a feeling of contentment, a pleasant evening spent laughing; an element of hope.  I won’t have to wake up tomorrow feeling like I’ve come out of a strangely disturbing dream; I won’t have images of spurting carotid arteries popping into my mind throughout the day; nor will I be wondering whether or not the next stranger I have to interact with is a psychopathic killer (incidentally I can’t believe this actor, Javier Bardem, is going to play the main romantic hero in ‘Love in the Times of Cholera’, one of my favourite novels, how am I going to make the switch? Such an inconsiderate choice.)  I must have spent three days chewing over the plot, the images, the feelings.  As much as I left the film feeling miserable, it did allow much thought and discussion.  ‘Definitely Maybe’, did definitely not provide such musings, but I don’t care; it was just what I wanted.  The joy of the rom com: I can see it, enjoy it and forget it!  

‘Definitely Maybe’ was a little quirky in its structure, the interesting framework of a father explaining his pre-marital relationships to his ten year-old daughter, Maya (Abigail Breslin from the delightful ‘Little Miss Sunshine’) provided humourous interjections as we are aligned with her in trying to guess who the mother is. Admittedly he does end up telling his daughter some pretty weird stuff (such as her mother’s lesbian affair) which makes you question his parental role… still New York children are pretty mature these days.   Cleverly timed, the Clinton presidential campaign provides an interesting early context with the Lewinsky affair mirroring the main character’s disillusionment with politics and life. 

 The film is charming but ultimately forgettable.  It doesn’t really try to be realistic: it doesn’t dwell on the pain of divorce or separation, and the way stunningly beautiful, amusing and clever women seem incredibly easy to come by may well infuriate single men.  More appealingly to us thirty-somethings, the characters don’t seem to age from 24 to 33.  The main message seems more to be you just end up with the right person at the right time without it being very much in your control.  This film is one for an enjoyable night out; the silver screen can lure you into its world and leave you with a happy sigh and a pleasant sleep, maybe.