AFI Fest

In Search of a Midnight Kiss

Arclight Cinemas

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind.

However, what if they can’t be forgotten? What if they are always on our minds? Well, then we can never move on. And then we get a character such as Wilson in In Search of a Midnight Kiss.

Writer/Director Alex Holdridge infuses the classic Romantic comedy elements of early Woody Allen films with the grittier, current fast-paced vernacular stylings of films like Swingers, to create a romantic comedy that feels like it could happen to you, or at least to the people you know.

Wilson (Scoot McNairy) is new to Los Angeles. He is your typical everyman. But just coming off the worst year of his life, he is down-on-his-luck and melancholy. You see, tonight is New Year’s Eve, and he is feeling lonely. Still pining for a lost love, Wilson has no concrete plans for the holidays. But that soon changes, when his roommate (Brian McGuire) convinces him to place an ad on Craig’s List looking for a date for the evening’s festivities. Enter Vivian (Sara Simmonds), a fiery young thing, who is hell bent on forgetting some auld acquaintances of her own. Soon, the two meet up and embark on a funny, touching journey across Los Angeles in the last remaining hours of the year.

The script and performances for this film are incredibly strong. Alex Holdridge creates a timeless feeling with his shots, as well as with his decision to shoot the film in Black and White. This is definitely a movie worth checking out.

Scoot McNairy is a strong lead. Without giving too much away, the film’s greatest moment comes from him AFTER midnight, when his character is listening to phone messages. McNairy’s quiet reaction to one of the messages is so simple, but yet speaks tons about his ability as an actor. For within that wordless, unforgiving moment, when the camera stays on him and doesn’t blink, we read all the pain and sorrow that he has. It is the sadness that always seems to be carried around at New Years time. In that look is New Year’s Auld Acquaintance. In that look, is a young actor who you can be sure you will be seeing a lot more of in the upcoming years.