“Say Anything” begins as a typical 80s high school kid’s film into something completely different and extra ordinary. It is said and referred as a pop culture significance which has marked as the best romantic movie of the modern times. And one cannot wonder how such a simple story worked magic that make us to love every character in this film. Let alone the sweet couple Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) and Diane Court (Ione Skye) but the lovable people who live around in their life. If I was blown away by “Before Sunrise” and “Before Sunset”, this is the inspiration to those with a childishness which surprises as at various instances into a mature truthful picture. “Say Anything” cannot be more fairytale and still make us believe that “..it can happen to you”.Set on the suburbs of sunshine rainy shores of Seattle, we see Lloyd surrounded loyally by two female friends Corey (Lili Taylor) and D.C (Amy Brooks) advising him not to infest ideas of dating the brainy school kid Diane which would only end up him getting hurt. And Lloyd says “I want to get hurt”. Easy to say. The easiness in which Cusack gives us the average guy with a charm and eloquence that when a guy in a party says to him, “That gives me hope”, we smile at our hidden hopelessness. But it is unbelievable that some one would not fall for Lloyd. He is a guy with a confidence of a huggable audacity. And he never admits he screws up or regrets saying something impulsive, because it is a pleasure to listen what he blabbers with cleverness. Diane is not the beauty or the sex symbol but a simple next door girl with mesmerizing eyes. The way they click is simply spectacular. Take this, he takes her to a party wherein he never gets a chance to speak but he adores her presence to let her be around. Just when we think it is a debacle, it is the sweet night she had in her high school life. There are scenes such as that with a subtle wit but a romance embedded with tiny beautiful treasures that it keeps flowing one after another.
Most of the romantic movies are a fantasy. A fantasy which falls in a pattern to be predicted such that falling in love, breaking up and reuniting is an industrial process for feeling good at the end. Director Cameron Crowe executes that process with a screenplay and dialogue so perfect to be natural but still gives the feeling of everything happening in wonderland. There will often be only one character that you want to love as a personal choice in real life and there are couples whom you just adore and be happy even in a world which you believe to be impossible. Cusack and Skye create that chemistry which makes them the sweethearts in such a small amount of time.
The film is not about the funny and moving romantic moments but a Diane caught up in between her father James Court (John Mahoney) and Lloyd. James likes Lloyd and Lloyd likes everyone. But James is in the cusp of sending her daughter off to a life of full security and career. Lloyd is seriously thinking about kick boxing, even though he thinks he is not great but good. And it does not work out like that. Lloyd knows Diane leaves in few weeks but he lives for the moment. I envy them when they trust their instincts and act impulsive even if they logically are aware of its demise. It almost looks as if it is fun to be ignorant or careless when it comes to strike a relationship.
“Say Anything” is the timeless chest for the time period of 80s music in various genres. Even though the famous shot of Cusack holding the boom box was already been revealed to me before the film, what a monumental scene is that? It is the collective representation of the character, music and the emotion it flurries upon.
The film takes us into this suburb land of possibilities; it touches and leaves the plausibility and credibility of these characters. Even the troublesome moments have a clandestine happiness in it. They tweak its impossibility by the virtue of some lies built over it but not the relationship. Movies like “Say Anything” are still rare to come. As I said, it stands tall above my two romantic favourites of all time, Linklater’s “Before Sunrise” and “Before Sunset”.
2 comments:
"I gave her my heart, she gave me a pen." Adore this movie.
This is the movie which had me in its heart long after it got over, as "Before Sunrise" did to me and made me to rent "Before Sunset" immediately. And how about Diane saying "Nobody thinks it will work, do they" and Lloyd replying, "No. You just described every great success story." :-). It deserves the adorations.
Post a Comment