A Children's Game - Or Not

Movie: Love Me If You Dare, directed by Yann Samuell
Reccomendation: Me.
Reason: It's my kind of romantic comedy. It's foreign, it's a little off-kilter, and it has a neat story hook.

I wandered into this movie a little blind. I remembered reading somewhere something about it, but I couldn't remember what or where, then I saw a preview for it attached to the DVD of Mean Creek. The look and feel of the trailer is what sold the movie to me, which was unusual. I came away from it without feeling as though I'd seen the whole movie, and so...tonight. I have to admit I was enraptured, gleeful at the sweet, playful tone the movie took from the very start. The title (which translates a little more directly as Children's Game) was quite apt, the metaphor of games and play giving the movie a bit of a lighter feel. It was an interesting contrast from the difficult, even dark territory the characters tread.

Within the context of the movie, the dare game swings from sweet and amusing to strangely warped and macabre. It is childish fun, but it is also the way the two main characters have found to best express themselves to one another. To me, it seemed like the 'twin language' that twins seem to develop. Not only do they express affection through the game, but jealousy, anger, love and pain as well. It's the most literal metaphor for love I've ever seen put to screen-"Stand on the train tracks until I say you can stop" is pretty close to "Tell me how you really feel, I can handle it". The relationship in the movie vaguely reminded me of Secretary, only with a slightly subtler sado-masochistic chemistry than the one Maggie Gyllenhal and James Spader developed.

I have to say I liked the movie. It was my kind of romantic comedy, after all. There was a certain bittersweet quality to the entire affair, the conclusion forgone, the entire story revolving around the journey. It was fun and adorable, and it didn't hurt that La Vie en Rose is one of my favorite love songs of all time.

-5/365 done, 360/365 to go.