Review
doesn't trust its initial story enough.
Its central love story has enough charm to
captivate, and its these quieter moments
between Ali and Ellie that work best. The
film relies too heavily on its overly stylized
sequences, many of which aim for
comedic heights, but tend to fall flat,
rendering the film oddly unengaged for
long stretches, while the narrative feels
the need to jump about, as if worried that
the audience will get bored.
Thankfully, this is not the issue, chiefly
down to the work of its two lead actors.
Any girl that dumps you while eating a
baguette is probably being overly mean,
yet Daniella Down never plays Ellie cruel.
There is a spirit to her, a sexiness and wry
humour that lifts the character out of
cliche, along with the film.
Zafar, meanwhile, gives a great deal of
charm to Ali, a sad sack mixture of failure
and optimism. You can't blame him for
wanting to tamper with his perception of
what his relationship was, just as you cant
blame him for falling in love in the first
place.
Technically, the film is slick, and given that
it was made on a budget of less than one
can imagine spending on that 'big shop' in
Sainsbury's, surprisingly so. Its also
expertly shot and utilizes its locations
well, never falling back on postcard
locations, giving the film a more
immediate, natural feel.
There is a great deal of imagination on
display here. Its witty, inventive and
packed with great ideas.
Just too many, as it turns out.
But it says a great deal about the
performances of the leads, that THE
CONVERSATIONS is still worth talking
about.