Review of Ruby Sparks (2012) by Thomas D — 14 Feb 2018

There may not be a modern day couple that I adore more than Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan. Weird to say, especially since I never find myself scouring the trades for their relationship updates or paparazzi photos. It's more so an adoration for their work on screen. Everything from Dano's turns in There Will Be Blood and Prisoners, to Zoe's work in The Big Sick and Our Brand is Crisis. And of course, their work together in Ruby Sparks, Meek's Cutoff (which I have admittedly yet to see), and upcoming film Wildlife. I'm not sure there's a more critically acclaimed working couple on screen.

Ruby Sparks is one of those weird films that I've had to sit on for about a week. Dano plays a successful novelist who is going through a bout of writer's block when he finds a character he created has crept her way into his real life, the catch being that everything he writes about her personality and character decisions is exactly the way she acts in real life. Is she real or is this a girl from his dreams that he's hallucinating? Well, that gets answered relatively fast and the result brings heart wrenching drama and a fascinating tale of obsession, controlling behavior, and to tread carefully on how you put someone up to a pedestal.

Romantic-comedy-dramas that take chances are always going to be on my good side. I immediately think of 500 Days of Summer, When Harry Met Sally, The Spectacular Now, The Big Sick, Paper Towns, La La Land, Man Up, and The Before Trilogy. All in different ways present a non-cliched representation of a romance. Ruby Sparks may not ultimately be as good as any of those films, but it took chances and provided thought provoking commentary for an otherwise paint by numbers genre.

Besides all of the interesting plot and character choices, there's some really powerful performances here. Annette Bening, Antonio Banderas, Steve Coogan, Chris Messina, and Deborah Ann Woll all do great work in bit roles. Kazan and Dano, however, are in an entirely different league. You can clearly see the chemistry the two have off screen plays well into their on screen turns as well. And one thing I noticed about Kazan's work, particularly for this character, is how much she channeled her inner Audrey Hepburn. I was about to write this in my notes and then boom, we see both of their characters watching Sabrina, a classic Hepburn film.

A sort of creepy but fascinatingly unique romantic story is what makes Ruby Sparks work so well. I more than recommend this to those interested in original filmmaking.

8.6/10.