Review

This is a beautiful-looking movie, with bright cinematography and abstractly framed shots. It almost descends into pretentiousness but the rather lighthearted nature of the story deftly avoids the pitfall.

The story mixes up past/present/future as a strange relationship evolves before us. From an unexpected encounter, we follow their unusual beginnings – the most interesting part of the story – and their breakup. It also sprinkles a cosmic/fate circumstance throughout.

Both leads (Justin Long and Emmy Rossum) do surprisingly well, which is lucky considering they have to carry the entire movie. They manage to instil nuance in the different phases of their life and relationship that made it obvious how things had changed; from the easy-going beginning, to the confrontational, to accepting a more mature platonic relationship.

There are some wonderful conversations and monologues which sound thoughtful but don't quite offer much insight. I expected a more profound story that held my attention way more than it actually did. There were many hints of a deeper meaning intertwined in the story, but none of them actually resolved in a satisfactory way.

It lacks the teeth of Blue Valentine and the whimsical nature of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, both of which handle the same type of relationship story, albeit in drastically different ways. Overall, it's an interesting watch but more for the visuals than the story and message.