by Frank Calvillo
Its a shame how genuine romance in movies is simply too rare a find these days. The simple truth may be that most people feel that the majority of love stories have already been told. Fortunately writer/directors Alex Holdridge and Linnea Saasen have refused to accept this notion and have crafted a film about a romance both modern and timeless.
Unfortunately, almost none of it works.
Meet Me in Montenegro tells the story of Anderson (Holdridge), a Hollywood screenwriter on the verge of being a has-been when his agent summons him to Berlin for a meeting with a famous actor (Jason Ritter) who is interested in Anderson’s latest screenplay. Anderson is intrigued by the prospect, but a failed romance from the past with a European dancer named Lina (Saasen), currently living in Berlin, makes him hesitant to go. Years before, the two enjoyed a passionate romance while in Montenegro, which ended with Lina’s abrupt departure and Anderson being heartbroken. Upon arriving in Berlin, Anderson visits with his old friends Stephen (Rupert Friend) and Friederike (Jennifer Ulrich) as he prepares for his meeting. When he encounters Lina, however, his world is once again shaken up by feelings for her, which he thought were long gone.
In the romantic comedy genre, chemistry is king, and as much as they try, neither of the two leads share an ounce of it. Looking at them, anyone can see that these two simply don’t seem like a good match. All of the embraces and lovesick glances can’t disguise the fact that most of the time, the pair come off as casual friends rather than ex-lovers. Maybe its because the two actors know each other so well in real life, that they figured that on-screen chemistry would happen on its own. Sadly, this is far from the case.
Surprisingly, the lack of chemistry between the two doesn’t prove the film’s biggest problem. Meet Me in Montenegro is hampered by a soulless script, which commits the cardinal sin of having actors recite plot rather than dialogue. You get the feeling that the directors actually included their own screenwriting notes into the actual movie. Too many scenes within Meet Me in Montenegro keep on announcing certain elements of the film, which the audience is totally capable of figuring out on their own. “You’re so idealistic and beautiful,” Anderson tells Lina at one point. Perhaps it’s just me, but that’s something which should be observed by the audience rather than spoken by the main character.
As much as there is about Meet Me in Montenegro which fails to come together, what does work, works extremely well.
If the romance between Anderson and Lina is an uninvolving bore, the one between Stephen and Friederike is the exact opposite. As a longtime couple who love each other, but fear they’ve reached an impasse, their story is actually full of some pretty great complexity. Watching these two fight to stay together as the inevitable looms over them is never anything but compelling and makes me wish it had been them going to Montenegro instead.
Speaking of Montenegro, praise has to be given to the gorgeous shots of the city which populate the entire film. Both it and Berlin have been captured in that kind of exquisite way, which gives off the of a magical feel you wish for them to have in real life.
Finally, the scene between Holdridge and Ritter is well-written and plays out really well, yet nowhere near enough to salvage Meet Me in Montenegro.
Holdridge acts like he’s directing himself in a rehearsal workshop. It saddens me that someone who so obviously lived and breathed his characters for what I can only assume is a long time manages to give such a shaky performance. Saasen is lovely, stunning even to look at, but although she essentially created her character, she still manages to breathe on-screen life into her. Meanwhile, Friend and Ulrich make for such a compelling couple, whether they’re fighting or making up.
Meet Me in Montenegro has its Woody Allen influences all over the place, making clear the kind of story the two filmmakers were so obviously trying to capture. However, despite a handful of elements, which do work, the directors’ effort never strikes the balance of indie comedy and telling romance that it’s striving for. At the film’s end, when Anderson is asked what happened to his film, he replies, “I’ll write something better.” Please do.