Date Number One: Review
Suejwa Ekanayake’s "Date Number One"
I must preface this review with the acknowledgement that I personally know Mr. Ekanayake, and have even screened a film with him during my travels, so that nobody second-guesses the credibility and an intrinsically unavoidable bias.
Date Number One is a film about several first dates and takes place in DC/Maryland. The film is very specific to its location, and its quirks and ticks represent the feelings and moods of the particular area, which I find almost exclusively missing from Hollywood films. The films first scenario is about a Ninja looking for Love. As tough as that is to swallow, and believe me, I had a hard time at first, but somehow, someway, in the end, the love of the characters, the postiveness of the film, and Sujewa’s disregard for conventions wins you over. The act of making this film wins you over. There is only a positive through line in this film, and that is rare to see, especially when dealing with characters in their late to early thirties.
I wont go into the more technical aspects of the film. Suejwa himself has reassured me that he is smoothing out the film as I have seen an earlier cut. Regardless, technical sort-comings are mostly afterthoughts these days (except for sound). I mean, most people are getting their entertainment from YouTube now. When someone is crafting this type of DIY film, these shortcomings in craft highlight the strengths. One strength Suejwa has is the writing. This is a very talkie picture, and I stress that it is always a gamble with talkies that things become very stagnant. Date Number One doesn’t suffer from that, and instead of location, Sujewa relies on a type of inventiveness and creativity infused in every scene. I must admit that I found the film to be very funny. One fault I find however is the moments that are very self-reflexive. An example of this is the scene in which the characters talk about the recent Tsunami in Sri Lanka was more agenda orientated and took me out of the story. But then again, if you like this movie, these are things you forgive, because those are the essentials of the film. It is this act of assemble that I find particularly interesting.
My favorite segment was the second scenario, which I thought was well acted by all parties and particularly well written. The vignette involves a singer in an indie band whose girlfriend tries to convince him to add another woman into the relationship. This is handled very sweetly and there was a sense of satisfaction to the newfound union. If you are interested in a lighthearted romantic comedy, with special quirks all its own, then I recommend this film. It is funny, sweet, and positive. Now if you are only interested in Fassbinder or Kiorstami this might not be the movie for you, but then again, variety is all right in my book.
I must preface this review with the acknowledgement that I personally know Mr. Ekanayake, and have even screened a film with him during my travels, so that nobody second-guesses the credibility and an intrinsically unavoidable bias.
Date Number One is a film about several first dates and takes place in DC/Maryland. The film is very specific to its location, and its quirks and ticks represent the feelings and moods of the particular area, which I find almost exclusively missing from Hollywood films. The films first scenario is about a Ninja looking for Love. As tough as that is to swallow, and believe me, I had a hard time at first, but somehow, someway, in the end, the love of the characters, the postiveness of the film, and Sujewa’s disregard for conventions wins you over. The act of making this film wins you over. There is only a positive through line in this film, and that is rare to see, especially when dealing with characters in their late to early thirties.
I wont go into the more technical aspects of the film. Suejwa himself has reassured me that he is smoothing out the film as I have seen an earlier cut. Regardless, technical sort-comings are mostly afterthoughts these days (except for sound). I mean, most people are getting their entertainment from YouTube now. When someone is crafting this type of DIY film, these shortcomings in craft highlight the strengths. One strength Suejwa has is the writing. This is a very talkie picture, and I stress that it is always a gamble with talkies that things become very stagnant. Date Number One doesn’t suffer from that, and instead of location, Sujewa relies on a type of inventiveness and creativity infused in every scene. I must admit that I found the film to be very funny. One fault I find however is the moments that are very self-reflexive. An example of this is the scene in which the characters talk about the recent Tsunami in Sri Lanka was more agenda orientated and took me out of the story. But then again, if you like this movie, these are things you forgive, because those are the essentials of the film. It is this act of assemble that I find particularly interesting.
My favorite segment was the second scenario, which I thought was well acted by all parties and particularly well written. The vignette involves a singer in an indie band whose girlfriend tries to convince him to add another woman into the relationship. This is handled very sweetly and there was a sense of satisfaction to the newfound union. If you are interested in a lighthearted romantic comedy, with special quirks all its own, then I recommend this film. It is funny, sweet, and positive. Now if you are only interested in Fassbinder or Kiorstami this might not be the movie for you, but then again, variety is all right in my book.
posted by Amir Motlagh at 3:27 PM
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