Prepping up for the London Film Festival, I didn’t have time to attend another great UK film festival which happened just before it, The Raindance Film Festival, however I did manage to sneak into the world premiere of one of its new films Forget Paris and have a cheeky interview with its director and leading man.
I’m lucky enough to know the director Chris Presswell quite well, and without any bias judgement I can tell you that he is going to be one to watch out for. Following on from his well received short film Missed Connections two years ago, he embarked on a labour of love focusing on the subject of falling out of love. It’s called, Forget Paris.
The story is held together by two characters, Dan and Katie, a couple who embark on an awkward trip to Paris together over New Years after their relationship falls apart. They are played excellently by Ed Coleman and newcomer Mai Cunningham as it is no easy job to hold an entire feature film together with just two characters. You get an understanding of the heartbreak and despair from Dan as the film progresses and towards the end you just want to shake Katie and tell her to stop being such a heartless bitch!!
The dialogue throughout is well paced, witty and very cynically British. Paris may be the city of romance, but through what the characters discuss and how the film positions them, this film seems to be the other extreme end of the spectrum. As an audience member you feel cold like the weather, awkward for the characters and it brings you to a point of hoping that you never find yourself in the same position as these two poor creatures- these however are all positive observations and reactions towards the film.
What I liked overall is that it gives you a little window into these characters lives without being obtrusive, you find similarities – good and bad – in yourself and the film is altogether relatable. In terms of the setting – you get a great feel for Paris, there are some beautiful shots of the city and the New Year scene is a fantastic effort considering the one shot opportunity the crew had with this. My only piece of criticism is a couple of overly shaky shots throughout the films journey, but overall a sterling effort. For a twenty something director moving into the world of feature films, you can only assume that the future is going to be bright.
To follow the films progress you can check out http://www.papersunfilms.co.uk and follow them on Twitter @papersunfilms
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