This film has a lot of potential. The cast, particularly the two leads, are great. The premise - two strangers meet and spend one long night falling in love - is perhaps a little predictable, but still holds charm. The setting - London city at night - is picturesque. However, the script fails to deliver and our two star-crossed lovers spend far too much of the film skimming the surface of well-worn conversation topics, trapped in cliché scenarios.
Lingering looks? Check. Conversations about God and the meaning of life? Check. Rain-soaked embraces? Check. Guy giving up his jacket? You bet. Bittersweet ending? Of course. Piano playing, swapping of embarrassing childhood stories, walks along rivers, revelations of painful pasts, spontaneous musical interludes - this film has it all.
That's not to say the film doesn't have its charms. There are some interesting twists in the conversation, and there are moments towards the end where the characters manage to break free, however temporarily, from their cookie-cut roles of Tortured Artist and Manic Pixie Dream Girl. The problem is that the formula has been done so often, and so much better. See: Before Sunrise (1995), Once (2006), Breakfast Club (1985). This film is by no means terrible, but with so many other good films available to watch, why waste your time?
