Past Perfect (Movie)

     Past Perfect (2002) [D: Daniel McIvor. Rebecca Jenkins, Daniel McIvor] A story cross cutting between Charlotte and Cecil’s first encounter on a plane and a day two years later after a miscarriage. Both had broken up with previous partners because they wanted children, so the loss of the child cuts deep. The question is, will they be able to salvage their relationship. The contrast between the trust and joy of the first meeting and the distrust and pain of the present sets up the plot. Will they or won’t they reconcile? Or rather, because this after all a romance, How will they reconcile?
     The movie is told in a series of chapters, with a number of tricks that almost work. The close ups of the faces in the plane work best; the voice-overs accompanying the image of an empty bench in a park don’t. In between are a mishmash of scenes of varying tension. The director (who is also the writer and the male lead) is much given to extended shots, which are clearly intended to express the depth and complexity of the emotional turmoil within the characters. Unfortunately, the result too often is “OK, I get it, now what?”
     This could have been an excellent movie. The actors have talent, the camera work is good, but the direction and editing fail to live up to the promise of the concept. I think the script could have used a few scenes tracing the shock of the miscarriage and its corrosive effect on trust. At first, Charlotte and Cecil must have tried to comfort each other; when did that change? Why? A scene between Cecil and his ex, Bernadette, gives a few hints. Charlotte and Cecil’s difference in cultural and educational background are another clue: Did Cecil try to be Pygmalion to Charlotte’s Galatea?
     In short, a more complex, richer script would have forced faster editing and more careful cross-cutting, both of which would have allowed for a more complex rhythm of tension and release than a mere two story strands do. **