Review by George Kozera for Mr. Will Wong
There is a searing authenticity to writer/director Marc Meyers’ third indie feature, How He Fell in Love, that is both electrifying and frustrating. The movie opens with Travis (Matt McGorry) attending the wedding of his ex-girlfriend and then sharing a ride back to Manhattan with Ellen (Amy Hargreaves), an older, married yoga instructor. Travis is a struggling musician who works full time in advertising and Ellen’s marriage to an older man is in jeopardy. Flirtation turns into a torrid affair and between trysts at boutique hotels and a Bed and Breakfast lodge in upper state Woodstock, New York, the two discover there is more to their relationship than just the physical. When Ellen’s husband Henry (Mark Blum) enters the story, the inevitable conflicts and consequences arise.
The chemistry between Travis and Ellen is muted. Their sharing stories and personal histories is interesting to watch but it’s their silent, unspoken glances that resonate. For me, theirs is a passionless yet passionate relationship which I could never really wrap my brain around. Matt McGorry, in his first starring feature length Movie role, brings the same intensely0subdued performance he gives as Asher on TV’s How to Get Away With Murder. He harkens a young Dustin Hoffman: nerdy, geeky and sexy. What is missing in his performance here is (ironically, his character in How He Fell in Love was told the same thing by a Music Producer) that he is “not light-hearted enough”. Amy Hargreaves is parlaying her television fame as part of the talented ensemble on TV’s Homeland much like Felicity Huffman did when she used her Desperate Housewives exposure to star and be Oscar-nominated for Transamerica. Hargreaves is revelatory. Ellen is torn between her illicit affair with a younger man which keeps her vibrant and alive and her comfortable yet uninspiring marriage. Veteran character actor, Mark Blum, elevates the potentially boring role of the cuckolded husband with intelligence, honesty and power.
How He Fell in Love is an anti-romance, romantic Film. It doesn’t shy away from the pitfalls and pain associated with adultery. It reminded me slightly of The Graduate: younger man/older woman and there’s even a scene of a topless exotic dancer doing the spinning thing with her tassels. I just wish this Movie had some elements of humour. Into everyone’s life, some laughter must fall.
levelFILM release HOW HE FELL IN LOVE on Friday, August 5, 2016 at The Kingsway and on Video-on-Demand Tuesday, September 13, 2016.
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