She Came To Me relies on opera for its love story while being a screwball comedy for the rest of the journey. The movie has much going for it in terms of a stellar cast and many whimsical interludes. However, it is sometimes over-stuffed, which often works against the zany premise of an opera composer with a severe case of writer’s block and a lonely heart. Absurd from start to finish, the movie reaches a crescendo in the final act and composes a shaky, albeit charming piece about life and love.
The movie begins with a famed New York City composer, Steven Lauddem (Peter Dinklage), still recovering from the failure of his last opera and the subsequent creative block. Desperate for a comeback, his wife Patricia (Anne Hathaway) suggests he take a walk for inspiration. On what becomes a walk to remember, Steven meets Katrina (Marisa Tomei), a tugboat captain who gets his creative juices flowing. After a love-making session, a rejuvenated Steven composes a new opera, which becomes the smash hit of the town. However, Katrina is still pining for him, which poses some major soul-searching and a life-altering trajectory.
In its odd-ball fashion, the narrative has enough thread to weave out a tapestry of marriage on the rock and a creative stuck in the doldrums. However, the story interjects additional storylines, including Patricia, who decides to abandon her therapy career and become a nun. Hathaway is brilliant, and though other storylines sandwich her arc, she manages to steal the show by injecting humor and pathos into Patricia, delivering deadpan musings and one showstopping meltdown.
Dinklage and Hathaway’s stories briefly intersect but remain on different planes for much of the movie. However, Director/Writer Rebecca Miller is unsatisfied with two divergent storylines and adds a third one. It is a soapy teenage love story involving Steven and Patricia’s son Julian (Evan Ellison) and his girlfriend Tereza (Harlow Jane), whose mother (Joanna Kulig) happens to be the cleaning woman for Steven and Patricia. Tereza’s stepfather (Brian d’Arcy James) serves as a foil; he disapproves of the teenage love and vows to nip it before it blossoms into a full romance. And for added fun, he moonlights as a Civil War reenactor, adding irreverent charm and humor.
Miller strives to craft a commentary about finding love in usual places. However, the three stories are complex and deserve more than brief intercuts. There is a lot of plot throughout: Patricia becomes a nun, a young couple falling in love, and a married composer who finds a muse in another woman. It is endearing but frustrating that all three stories exist in a single narrative. Each character is deserving of their own movie. However, Miller deserves props for showcasing l-o-v-e, warts, and all. She Came To Me is no glossy romantic comedy but an attempt to examine why and how people fall in love.
While the movie has a spark, it never connects enough to give the film energy to power through to the end. However, Dinklage is genuinely marvelous and reminds the audience of his range as an actor. He bares his soul in the movie, bringing tears to the eyes with his laughter and sorrow.
She Came To Me is strongest when Dinklage is center stage. From his battle with writer’s block to his chemistry with Hathaway or even charming Tomei aboard her boat, the movie excels when it focuses as a commentary on love. Love for all its strangeness. Love for all its randomness. Love for the sake of love.
The movie strikes the right note in the third act, reaffirming the time-tested adage: love conquers all. She Came To Me may be uneven throughout. Still, the actors’ chemistry together and engaging performances are enough to deliver some crowd-pleasing moments. Similarly to opera, this movie is about the experience. It is romantic as much as bold. Opera can be heavy, even confusing, much like love itself. And love, like opera, is sometimes more about feeling what someone is saying (or singing) than understanding the words.
She Came To Me will debut in theaters on October 6, 2023 courtesy of Vertical Entertainment.
The movie strikes the right note in the third act, reaffirming the time-tested adage: love conquers all. She Came To Me may be uneven throughout. Still, the actors' chemistry together and engaging performances are enough to deliver some crowd-pleasing moments. Similarly to opera, this movie is about the experience. It is romantic as much as bold. Opera can be heavy, even confusing, much like love itself. And love, like opera, is sometimes more about feeling what someone is saying (or singing) than understanding the words.
-
GVN Rating 7
-
User Ratings (0 Votes)
0
Writing & podcasting. Movies are more than entertainment; movies are a way of life.
Favorite Genres include: horror, thrillers, drama. Three Favorite Films: The Dark Knight, Halloween & Jaws.