Endings, Beginnings | Film Review

I'd been wanting to see this film for quite a while, but there was no news about it for so long that I just assumed it wouldn't be getting a proper release. However, at the end of last year it appeared on Netflix, which I'm really grateful for. 

Daphne (Shailene Woodley) is trying to find herself after a break-up, when she meets two men at a party. As she falls deeper for both of them, she discovers that they are friends. But will either of these men be the key to changing her life?

There were some good things about this film, but there were also a lot of problems with it.

The beginning of the film, without doing much, gives an interesting insight into Daphne's character. The audience gets to know her without realising it.

However, this is different for our two male main characters - Jack (Jamie Dornan) and Frank (Sebastian Stan). They are introduced in really similar circumstances, and immediately have different relationships with Daphne, but it still takes a while for the audience to get to know them.

The dialogue, particularly in the beginning of the film, felt really realistic, as well as being well-written. You believe these characters, even if you don't agree with them.

Texting is a big part of the movie, and shapes one of Daphne's relationships. While this isn't particularly original, it adds something modern and interesting to the film.

However, one fundamental problem I had with investing in either of these potential relationships is the way that Daphne is portrayed at the beginning of the movie, due to her break-up. We are told more than once that she is still hurting and suffering, therefore the progression of either relationship feels disingenuous. As if she is on the rebound.

Speaking of the progression of these relationship, the relationships move un-evenly. It gets to a point where Daphne has knowingly and intentionally put herself in this situation, and the audience are left wondering why. 

For me, there was not enough differentiation between the two male characters to warrant Daphne's indecision. I understand that she had passion with one, and stability with the other. But both of these men are similar enough that you can't see why Daphne is being pulled in both directions. Neither of them really stands out or is a particularly interesting character, and the audience never really gets to know either of them well. 

Daphne quickly becomes a character that the audience can no longer root for. The sporadic nature of the film does a good job of portraying her confused mindset, but we never really see the full extent of her torment. Instead, she is always happy with whichever man she's with.

I also found it strange that, while we are told time and time again how good a friendship Jack and Frank have, these characters have barely a scene together, and we never see any type of friendship between them. Maybe if we saw more of their interactions, we would see more of Daphne's guilt, which would have been interesting.

The ending of the film, while interesting, doesn't feel like it accomplishes anything. Daphne as a character hasn't had a lot of development, and any interest we had about this story (if there was any left) vanishes.

Overall, this film was fine. It wasn't great, and you won't think about it after the credits roll, but it's not an awful way to spent an hour and a half.

5/10