Cast: Scoot McNairy, Sara Simmonds, Brian McGuire
Dir: Alex Holdridge
Rating: 3/5
In Search of a Midnight Kiss is a tender comic journey though love, sex, and perils of dating in present day Los Angeles.
It’s New Year’s Eve in L.A. and Wilson (Scoot McNairy), is a twenty-nine-year old guy who has just had the worst year of his life, is new to Los Angeles, has no date, no concrete plans and every intention of locking the doors and forgetting the last year ever happened.
That is until his best friend, Jacob (Brian McGuire), browbeats him into posting a personal ad on Craig’s List.
Enter Vivian (Sara Simmonds), a strong-willed woman hell bent on being with the right guy at the stroke of midnight.
Together, they begin a hilarious, chaotic, touching journey through the black and white streets of L.A. in the waning hours of the year.
In Search of a Midnight Kiss is shot entirely in a crisp black and white, is obviously low budget, small cast and uses the city of Los Angeles to it's advantage restoring faith in the indie movie.
While romantic comedies of late glamorise and the idea of finding love while this mixes romantic cynicism and hope with, especially in the case of Vivian, the inevitable heartbreak.
Fans of indie romances such as Before Sunrise and Once will find it hard not to fall in love with this film as it follows in their footsteps.
The central performances of Scoot McNairy and Sara Simmonds are just perfect highlighting the fact that all you really need to make a romantic comedy of the highest caliber is two good and likeable actors and a great script.
In Search of a Midnight kiss has both of these as the mismatched pair wander around LA doing what many potential lovers don't do in movies these days... talk and get to know each other.
As well as tender moments between the pair there are laugh out loud scenes as well as scenes of total unexpected heartbreak. LA in it's new monochrome black and white has never looked so good as director Alex Holdridge uses the city as a character in it's own right.
Despite the slow start this film really does pick up as the audience gets to know these characters as they get to know each other and you can't help but root for them to find happiness not just with each other but with themselves and their lives.
For a new take on a romantic comedy that has real heart then indie picture In Search of a MIdnight Kiss really is well worth a watch.
In Search of a Midnight Kiss is released 6th October.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw