Review of Paper Heart (2009) by Rachel L — 06 Jul 2010

After watching this, I realize I'm just not a Charlene Yi fan; something in her voice just grates, although I can see how other people would find her endearing. Which is a shame because she's one of the main characters in the movie. The interviews with the "real-life" couples are the highlight.

[edit].

I wrote that initlal reaction after having watched the first 30 minutes of the movie. After actually finishing the movie, I've upgraded it from a 3 1/2 stars to a solid 4. What can I say? Charlyne grew on me; she really did. Her teenage angst and confusion was just so endearing.

I love the way the film pokes fun at the blurred lines between fiction and reality. Paper Heart is shot in documentary-style, but with fictionalized elements; at times, it's hard to tell which is which (I'm curious actually - are the "real-life" couples in the movie real or constructed?). There are sharp reminders of this throughout the movie: Michael and Charlyne physically sprinting away to ditch the camera crew, the conflict that rises when Nick suggests shooting in Paris for a romantic, albeit manufactured, ending in the City of Love. And then there is, of course, the major source of tension in Michael and Charlyne's relationship: the constant presence of the cameras, who capture their romance from the first meet. I liked Nick, the director. Although earlier in the movie tells Charlyne that the cameras always have to be present to film every shot "just in case" something monumental happens, at the end of the movie, he orders his camera man to cut the tape, allowing Michael and Charlyne to have a crucial moment together. He also stops filming at a point when Charlyne is clearly emotionally broken; instead of exploiting her pain and their relationship for the sake of the film, he turns the camera off. I thought it was significant that he did it at what would have made such a great scene, artistically. Which makes me wonder: do photographic journalists ever turn off the camera? Is there ever a point where, even for the sake of the story, they deem is too great a violation, too great an exploitation to snap the shot?

The ending of the film treated us to another one of Charlyne's quirky puppet shows in which she orchestrated a sensationalized, over-the-top action sequence, followed by a dramatic speech on taking risks in love, and ending with Charlyne walking off into the sunset with an injured Michael flung over her shoulder. Clearly poking fun at every known cliche on action and romance known to mankind :).