Catching up on some DVD viewings,I decided to see what films were about to be removed from Netflix UK. Not having seen her since the double bill of The Day After Tomorrow and The Phantom of the Opera in 2004, (despite being based on a UK show,Shameless has never come out on UK DVD) I was intrigued to spot an indie flick with Emmy Rossum,which led to me looking up at the sky.

The plot:

Crashing into each other whilst standing in line to watch a meteor shower,Dell and Kimberly collide into a romantic relationship.Over their six years,Dell wonders about what state the romance must be in alternative universes.Unknown to (this version of) Dell,the other Dell's and Kimberly's are seeing their love burnout across the galaxy.

View on the film:

Experiencing anything but a crumbling relationship behind the scenes, (she would later get married to the writer/director) Emmy Rossum gives an excellent,fragile performance as Kimberly. Initially whirling in with a kooky smile,Rossum pulls it into a fraught state,where the mere sight of Dell makes Kimberly fall more out of love with him. Tripping over his sweet nothings to Kimberly,Justin Long gives a great performance as Dell,who Long keeps from ever feeling he is on stable ground,which pulls his love for Kimberly into an unstable state.

Programmed before he created the TV series Mr. Robot,the debut screenplay by writer/director Sam Esmail scatters a snapshot across the screen on the various eras of Dell's and Kimberly's relationship criss-crossing over each other,from the lightly comedic first encounter,to the emotionally raw,bitter downward spiral the romance becomes trapped in. Although the use of parallel universes keeps the romance unsettled,Esmail disappointingly does not use it to give the characters a complexity or depth,but to instead use it as a device to jump back and forth on the various stages of the romance.

Inspired by the Cinéma Du Look movement,debuting director Esmail & cinematographer Eric Koretz crack the night sky of Dell and Kimberly's blossoming stage with a wave of ultra-stylised neon reds,blues and yellows,that shimming as Esmail dips from the real to the parallel. Tripping the colours as Dell and Kimberly's romance hits new lows,Esmail keeps the Du Look styling simmering in a warm light blue darting across Dell and Kimberly's romance like a comet.

Good movie with a nice story told in an interesting way. there were a lot of very creative scenes. visually stimulating (1 viewing)

SPOILERS

Theory #1 - Dell in our universe is having weird dreams which are actually memories from his parallel universe. In our universe he doesn't end up with her but in the movie Universe he does and it helps him cope with losing her. A clue is that she was lying about being pregnant and was about to confess before he stopped her and figured it out. And he couldn't read anything in the black book, her thesis. At first I thought it meant he can't really understand her or something along those lines but apparently you can't read in dreams Theory #2 - they really don't end up together in the movie timeline but the two suns in the background mean that is the alternate universe and in our universe they are together

the girl as a characters wasn't very likable. but I guess the point is that she was supposed to be a little messed up and not perfect

I was very close to disliking this movie before that final scene. I was worried it was going to be one of those where you really have no idea what happened at all. But the last scene did a good job of making you understand the different possibilities. if this movie ended before that last scene it would have been completely ambiguous with infinite possibilities. But that last scene kind of narrowed it down a lot

From chat discussion with Ronnie: That's a great comparison. In neon demon you can literally come up with anything and it might be true. And most of your analysis will just be about metaphors and symbolism. In this movie there are definitive possibilities for exactly what happened in the movie

Whatever one was to say about this ambitious and often highly effective indie Sci-Fi/Romance, there's little doubting that Comet is one of the most visually striking and uniquely crafted films of recent memory and a hugely effective calling card for first time director and boyfriend of Emmy Rossum, Sam Esmail.

While it would take some time to discover all the nuances and narrative conundrums of this original journey, Esmail's directional eye and way with words is something to behold, no better magnified by the fact that Comet really is a 90 minute conversation driven piece that is not dissimilar to a Woody Allen or Noah Baumbach film. From emotionally charged scenarios through to comical situations, Comet often masters a raft of different genres and it's musings on life, love and the plausibility of parallel dimensions is balanced to wonderful effect by Esmail. The film, as mentioned, carries a fantastically appealing visual flair, from strange framing, beautiful lighting and nice visual ticks Comet looks a treat, even more so when considering its low end budget.

It's refreshing to see a filmmaker utilise the tools at his disposable and all the good work Esmail does with his screenplay and directional style would've come to naught had he struck out with his main actors but thankfully you'll find here arguably career best turns from Justin Long and Emmy Rossum. If Long's Dell and Rossum's Kimberly had failed to create a chemistry led spark, Comet would've been an exercise in artistic frustration but in these two relatable and often impressively created characters we have two humans that we can both relate to, enjoy and even dislike. It's a testament that both these actors keep the films narrative intact, even when things seem to be gathering steam towards an incomprehensible whole. With these two young actors at centre stage, Comet really becomes a memorable experience.

Comet is enjoyable, moving and original and while not everything works completely within this high reaching dialogue driven outing, there is enough that clicks to make it one of the most accomplished directional debuts and romantically tinged movies of recent years. Something akin to a less whimsical 500 Days of Summer, come the films quietly beautiful finale, Comet is a film sure to impress all those who enjoy wordy and brain scratching character studies.

3 1/2 Chinese food orders out of 5