By Anders Douglas-Svensson
Melinda and Melinda is a vindication for every optimist and pessimist out there. It portrays relatable characters that fall out of love like it is going out of fashion; and then fall in love before it goes out of style. The film juxtaposes the comedic elements of a fractured life next to the tragic elements of that same life. Regardless of which elements you favour you find yourself rooting on Melinda as she picks up the pieces of her life. The comedic storyline stars Will Ferrell, Amanda Peet, Steve Carell, Wallace Shawn, and of course Radha Mitchell. The tragedy stars Chloë Sevigny, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Larry Pine, Josh Brolin, and of course Radha Mitchell.
Melinda and Melinda is a vindication for every optimist and pessimist out there. It portrays relatable characters that fall out of love like it is going out of fashion; and then fall in love before it goes out of style. The film juxtaposes the comedic elements of a fractured life next to the tragic elements of that same life. Regardless of which elements you favour you find yourself rooting on Melinda as she picks up the pieces of her life. The comedic storyline stars Will Ferrell, Amanda Peet, Steve Carell, Wallace Shawn, and of course Radha Mitchell. The tragedy stars Chloë Sevigny, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Larry Pine, Josh Brolin, and of course Radha Mitchell.
But all the stellar acting aside, the film renegotiates what love means on a social and personal level. Each person can find a new perspective in the film, but as a society we can learn to embrace the infinite ways in which love can be framed. Woody Allen has a history of wowing audiences, yet in this film he does more than that, he challenges our very conceptions and misconceptions of love. Ultimately you don't know whether to laugh or to cry but you end up contemplating what love means. In truth, both storylines are touching and entertaining but the tragic one leaps off the screen and enchants you with its honest cynicism and impossible nature.
