Thursday 5 June 2008

Sex and the City: The Movie (Dir. Michael Patrick King)

The following is an effusive film review/a willing suspension of analysis:

I dedicate this to all my girls, but especially Kasumi, Puja and Poppi. Thanks for watching the 'Sex and the City' TV series and countless good and bad films with me through the last few years. Thanks for listening to my endless rants about academia, Adelaide, identity crises, incomprehensible men, caffeine addiction and life in general.

How do I respond to a film that is carrying the anticipation of a large proportion of women in the Western world on its designer shoulders? It is not that I feel inadequate, or incapable of writing a review that will do justice. I'm simply too moved to pen down an objective critique, to analyse the plot and storyline, to comment on the acting, to pull apart the visuals and sounds that make up this film. The academic/critic/filmmaker wants to take a back seat and just let the woman in me be.

As the credits rolled, I thought the film did not have the 'spark' of the TV series. However, a few scenes later, as I looked at Carrie's swollen, mascara-less eyes at a resort in Mexico, my glasses came off. And so did my pride, for I can't recall the last occasion I shed a tear in a cinema hall. The waterworks continued way past the cancelled wedding and honeymoon. I sailed in their murky ocean during Carrie and Miranda's lonely New Year's eve and Valentine's Day, and pushed them back with welcome laughter through Samantha's LA adventures. Charlotte remained a beacon of hope throughout, and the perfection of her new family life seemed surprisingly credible.

For SATC fans who read this before watching the movie - I will not spoil your experience by answering the ever-looming question regarding Carrie and Big's future together. Despite my recent predisposition towards films with 'closure', in this case, I just had blinkers on. As they say - stop wishing and you'll be surprised.

1 comment:

Poppi said...

*sight* It was almost a perfect antidote.