Cinema Without Borders Blogs

Sappily Ever After

An often overlooked aspect of cinema is the event itself. ‘Hitting the flicks’ was considered a treat something saved for first dates and always took place during the weekends.

The release of ‘Sex and the City Movie’ re-captured this approach, with women dressing flamboyantly getting together in large groups and queuing around the block for the ‘sold-out’ screenings. For a moment ‘event cinema’ was back. Pity therefore the film never shone as much as the sequins on the garish outfits of the audience.

For those of you unfamiliar with the hit sitcom; Sex and the City followed the exploits of four New York women on their ever so complicated search for a ‘happy ending’. I admit I was caught up in the later seasons of the show and admired how it ended without cynicism, schmaltz and not giving too much room for any follow-up episodes. Something many long running television shows fail to achieve. The fact they reunited to make a movie was powered, of course by money. I was interested to see where it would lead after closing on each of their happy endings relatively successfully.

And so the wound was opened. I had hoped it would be a frivolous adventure of what happened next and for the first half hour it did. But, as all audiences know a narrative needs a ‘conflict’ in order to provide a ‘resolution’ and to allow the words ‘The End’ to appear. The conflict in this case is the jilted bride played by Sarah-Jessica Parker in her role as Carrie Bradshaw. The film then follows her and her friends through the aftermath of the doomed wedding and new emotional turmoil; Miranda splitting from her husband, the breakdown between Samantha and her partner and the delicate issue of Charlotte’s pregnancy. Apart from the latter, this new upheaval in the romantic lives of the women only seemed to mock the successful ending to the series. We, the viewer had witnessed the emotional highs and lows of the six seasons, many decisions were made along the way enabling this current conclusion. Therefore, to see it all crumble to dust in the few hours this film was screened seemed somewhat rushed. The first half of the film played the realism card and this is where it did well. Now I am not talking about gritty realism here after all this is a film with dialogue referring frequently to fashion, designers and labels. I do refer to some very naturally acted scenes offering a level of believability. Specifically the scene in which, Carrie and Big casually converse before settling down to sleep for the night. The Valentine’s Day sequence when Miranda and Carrie fall out is played both for laughs and tears. The topic has an emotional impact on the women but Carrie’s dramatic exit is slowed down as she is tangled in several balloons hindering her to comedic effect.

For the best part of the film we are duty bound to endure Carrie’s heartbreak. The man she searched an entire sitcom for left her on the day of their wedding. It is handled quite effectively considering the timeframe. However, this is when the ending betrays the viewer, Big is portrayed throughout as a hated figure and fewer shots are used of him as Carrie’s strength grows.

Then the runaway train ending turns the whole film around. Suddenly she is back in his arms, suddenly they are married and suddenly we are supposed to feel satisfied? Excuse me, but we had devoted quality time helping our friend find her feet only for her to lie down and say ‘hey there, care to wipe your feet on me?’

In true Hollywood tradition it raced to tie the ends together and as a result failed to impress. The previous scenes seemed to lose their weight as the happily married couple grinned vacantly until the credits rolled.

Article by Hollie Miller

www.hollie-miller.com

Tagged as: Betrayal, Carrie Bradshaw, Life, Love, Marriage, Relationships, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sex and the City, The Movie