Director: Shady Hanna
Starring: Badih Abou Chakra, Talal Jurdi, Fouad Yammine, Dory Al Samarany, Nada Abou Farhat, Nibal Arakji, Darine Hamze, Marwa Khalil, Julia Kassar
Running Time: 118 minutes
Synopsis: In Beirut, four fortysomething men grapple with relationship issues. Walid (Badih Abou Chakra) is wealthy but frustrated by the shallow women he meets on the dating scene. His friend Mazen (Dory Al Samarany) has frequent casual sex behind the back of his long suffering girlfriend Nour (Nada Abou Farhat). Heart surgeon Hatem (Talal Jurdi) is secretly bulimic, testing the limits of his wife Nina (Nibal Arakji). And new father Ziad (Fouad Yammine) is married to Maya (Darine Hamze) but feeling neglected and carrying on a secret affair with Ghida (Marwa Khalil).
What Works Well: Stylistically similar but less a sequel and more a male counter-perspective to the 2014 original, this version is more serious and dramatic. The bulimia sub-plot makes for a difficult watch, and Mazen's callous treatment of Nour points to unstated sex addiction. Nevertheless moments of humour do emerge, most commonly in Walid's succession of dates with entitled and materialistic husband-hunters.
What Does Not Work As Well: The shifts in tone between serious and lighthearted are often awkward, and the drama is less expressive, a natural outcome of a focus on men unwilling to verbalize thoughts and emotions. A character with early onset dementia (Julia Kassar as Mazen's neighbour) is treated as no more than comic relief.
Key Quote:
Walid: I would very much like to get married. Especially if I fall in love.
All Ace Black Movie Blog reviews are here.
No comments:
Post a Comment
We welcome reader comments about this post.