Charlotte Sometimes REVIEW

Charlotte Sometimes: A+

Sometimes the truth is in the lie.

I'm having trouble writing a conventional review for this movie, so I'll try flowing with thoughts or associations that come to my mind about it, and maybe do a tightened version of a review later

Generally.
It's a film about people who hide more than they show --- or specifically, an unfair love triangle that is transformed by an enigmatic stranger. It requires the viewer to use intuition and observation because what you see is what you get, just as in real life.

All-American movie.
As you may be aware by now, the cast is made up primarily of Asian American or Hapa characters --- but the story seems to be representative of the challenges of love and relationships/loneliness and disassociation universally faced by twenty/thirty somethings.

This movie is a bit different from what you see in conventional Asian American cinema in that the humanity comes before the Asian-ness. Yes there is a tangible quality of seeing Asian or part Asian faces on the screen that makes one think of what being Asian means, and an intangible quality of the way that they relate that makes one think: Asian. But overall, this movie is not out to clobber you with a social or historical agenda --- its out to tell a story about relationships and love between Asian Americans, but in some ways, at some level it does not require Asian Americans to act it out --- it's just special that the director's vision was to tell such a great story using Asian Americans, but it is not an Asian story, per se.

The questions SheDev and I (if we are typical viewers) focused in on the characters themselves. It is odd to say it, but the characters really felt real. The questions in our mind were as if they were real, and concerned topics relating to life and choices.

Visually driven.
The story is told by viewing the characters and their reactions on screen rather than by some contrived dialog where each character reveals their motivations, thoughts, background, etc. In this sense, it is an alternative take on how you "tell" or construct a relationship movie. There is a great deal of subtlety in this style of moviemaking, and it probably will lead to a love it/hate it reaction, or as the woman next to SheDev spontaneously uttered at the end of the movie: WEIRD --- I don't think that that will be an atypical reaction at all

Night after night she lay alone in bed
Her eyes so open to the dark
The streets all looked so strange
They seemed so far away
But Charlotte sometimes did not cry
The people seemed so close
Playing expressionless games
The people seemed so close
So close
So many
Other names

The Justin Character (Hapa guy).
It's interesting how the Justin character functions in the movie. In a very simplistic way, he is the obstacle preventing Michael from having a chance to be with Lori (the Asian cutie). In some psychological way, he is the buff Alpha male dude who accommodates Lori's physical needs

In some way out reading too much into it way, it seems like it is getting at a deeper issue. That is, an unsaid quality of mate selection by A-A women, is race a factor when choosing who can be her friend, who can be her lover. Justin is different from Michael here not only because he is the buff dude, but because he is hapa, and Michael is pure-J.

In some odd way, it plays on old ways of thinking, particularly mainland A-A thinking. It gets to issues like, is half A enough? Also, do you feel some kind of "injustice" just because he's hapa that you might feel if Justin were White, Black, Latino?

Bluntly put, I think this movie plays with some Asian American stereotypes in movies, and probably may offend some in the greater A-A community in that Asian American males are always being emasculated in films, or in other words, they are not cast as desirable or sexy. In this movie, you have Michael being constantly assaulted with sexual sounds coming from Justin and Lori, who live next door --- but he still longs for her. However, the fact that the non-pure guy ends up in bed with her may bother some as again demeaning the sexuality of A-A men. My opinion is that I just see it as that's the hand that Michael is dealt, but I do think that kind of interpretation is possible and very interesting. All this focus on the character that in your reviewer's opinion is probably the LEAST developed.

Real feel Hapa complexity.
It is odd but when Darcy asks Justin, "What part of you is Asian?"to see what he would say. He answers with, "What part of me?" She clarifies, "Like, is your mother Asian or...", and then he answers, "Yeah my mom."

This gets to some awkwardness that Hapa people may feel in terms of being comfortable around their single race A-A friends, family, acquaintances, etc. As a hapa person, Justin seems to want to feel comfortable around the table of single race A-As, but he never does feel completely comfortable. There's just something there that precludes that from happening, it is almost like some kind of flaw in Justin's armor. This movie captures that vibe perfectly, intended or not. Well scripted, well acted.

Sometimes I'm dreaming
Where all the other people dance
Sometimes I'm dreaming
Charlotte Sometimes
Sometimes I'm dreaming
Expressionless the trance
Sometimes I'm dreaming
So many different names
Sometimes I'm dreaming
The sounds all stay the same
Sometimes I'm dreaming
She hopes to open shadowed eyes
On a different world
Come to me
Scared princess
Charlotte sometimes

One main character? Or, four main characters?
Is Michael the main character? I had trouble with this one because arguably the women had very good development as well. They had as much complexity and color as the Michael character. In many ways, they are faced with as many difficult and complex choices as Michael was --- so in some way, it's hard to just focus in on Michael as the driving focus, when clearly all the choices were not for him to make --- nor were the other character's choices simply aligned so that at the end Michael could clearly emerge as the main character, protagonist, what have you.

Darcy.
What a delicious complex character. Darcy seems to enjoy identifying weaknesses in others, or issues that divide others, and she likes to bring them out in the open and watch people react. In other words, in most of her scenes, she's a tweeker.

More on Michael.
It's like the movie plays on this concept of Asian American male as asexual. Frankly, you get to see that Michael is a very good looking A-A guy, but he never gets naked like the rest of the ensemble characters. At some psychological level, the question is, is Michael putting us on as to his "asexuality" or is it some kind of defense or coping mechanism from him truly letting his sexuality loose.

It's weird because there is an odd way of relating between men and women sometimes where the man must act as if they aren't interested in sex, and the women that these men are "friends" work on the presumption that: if you pretend not to want me, I'll pretend not to know. This movie gets at that kind of thorny, complex relationship type.

As an interesting side note, it is not tremendously revealing to say that A-A men are not usually forthcoming when it comes to sex, in fact, most are very private about that matter. It may be reasonable to read this as: not interested in sex

Michael is in a tough spot. He's stuck in his role as emotional comfort to Lori which at its core does not see him or construct him as remotely sexual. On the other hand, he must deal with the complexities of his feelings with and for the provocative Darcy.

The unique thing about this film is that even at Michael's most "non-sexy" with Lori, there is a dignity, a composure, deep kindness, and deep sexual vibe coming forth. On the other hand, there is a deep psychological wrestling that goes on between him and Darcy, who comes across as forcing his hand, aggressive, and all-consumingly sexual, yet is put in her place by his direct expression of his guiding principles about not taking shortcuts.

On that bleak track
(See the sun is gone again)
The tears were pouring down her face
She was crying and crying for a girl
Who died so many years before...

Loneliness.
Well, I said I thought this movie had that feeling of loneliness about it. All the characters are lonely, but their individual reasons for being lonely are not the same. At a very fundamental level, Michael and Lori are unable in this movie to connect, which creates loneliness. The reasons for why they cannot connect may differ from viewer to viewer.

If one were to view it in terms of how A-A sexuality is normatively constructed in American films, Michael may be the archetype of A-A male sexuality and roles in relationships. Michael comes off as asexual, partly because of his way of relating to women, but partly because he doesn't seem to fully embrace or conceive of himself necessarily as sexual. Lori seems to be the cute, bubbly A-A female that is sexy to all, that is coveted by all men, and she interprets this as acceptance.

More Darcy re: Loneliness.
Darcy seems to be aware of the games played relating to Asian female sexuality, as such she rejects the role that men want her to play which results in her loneliness. The profound way that she feels this results in her being unable to trust any man that wants to be with her. The killer for her character in this movie is that she cannot trust herself when she genuinely feels for men, such as Michael in this movie. The ironic conclusion to this film in this reviewer's opinion circles around this issue: does Darcy really want to be in love (or in a relationship)?
You may find that your answer differs from others.

Sometimes I dream
Where all the people dance
Sometimes I dream
Charlotte sometimes
Sometimes I dream
The sounds all stay the same
Sometimes I'm dreaming
There are so many different names
Sometimes I dream
Sometimes I dream...

On loves that could be, yet cannot be - More Darcy.
I think that watching the film, the most interesting aspect for me was the relating between Michael and Darcy. Here you have two gendered misfits --- neither really acts the way that their gender is supposed to. There was a part of me that thought Michael can love Darcy, he can be what she is looking for --- the man that can actually be with her not out of resentment for her strength or seeing it as a challenge, but actually out of respect for that strength.

Unfortunately, Darcy thinks men are after her as a challenge, and fun with Catch-22, that's the exact thing that Darcy's character avoids at all costs. Darcy seems to know intuitively that at the end of the day, men want Loris who say yes to them all the time, and she would only be discarded after the challenge was completed

True romance?
One of the potent aspects of this movie is dealing with the all too human feeling of not being able to be with the people you want to. Very interesting because when the reviewer considers the majority of romantic films, they are mostly about how you meet the one that will be your one and only (one need only consult any movie with Meg in it for the highest form of the genre, ha)

This movie is unique in the sense that you don't invest your hour and a half to get to the part where two people have found love. In many ways, this movie pays homage to the current concept of "trying to find the one", then takes you on a hard swerve to reality. Like most of our lives, this film focuses in on relationships that happen that aren't with "the One". In that sense, there is an honesty about this film that focuses in on the fact that although romantic movies 90% end up successfully, real life relationships 90% tend not to be with "the One"

This movie doesn't bullshit you with the whole "the top of the Empire State building kissing the girl". This movie hits you in the face with "That is so true. I can't believe they are keeping it real on screen and selling me characters that act as if they are real people.".

Charlotte sometimes crying for herself
Charlotte sometimes dreams a wall around herself
But it's always with love
With so much love it looks like
Everything else
Of Charlotte sometimes
So far away
Glass sealed and pretty
Charlotte sometimes

Music. I can't leave without talking about the unique role that music plays in this film. Cody Chesnutt has four songs in the film. It almost seems as if his songs voice some of the thoughts the characters onscreen feels but would never say. The excellent song, the one SheDev loved a lot, and I did too, is the Seven Year Bitch also does an important song that seems to give voice to Darcy's inner rage.

At the end of the day.
Simple plot, unpredictable, subtlety, nuanced. Requires investment on the part of the viewer to tell part of the story, in other words, it requires your own frame of reference and observation

In short, the best movie I have seen so far this year, a movie where at the end you walk away wanting to ask questions, fill in the blanks, and share revelations, out of the feelings of satisfaction that you saw a well-crafted movie

Sometimes the truth is in the lie
-jacqueline kim
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(Lyrics of "Charlotte Sometimes" by The Cure)