This weekend I happened to be up in London and decided to swing by my favourite Independent Cinema, The Prince Charles Cinema. I have spoken of my love for this place in many other reviews so I won't harp on about it here. I planned to see what was on and pick up a brochure of coming events. It was then, at 3pm, that I noticed that Ruby Sparks was showing at 3.35pm. Feeling like it was fate for me to be there, at my favourite cinema, with only half an hour to go before the screening of a film I'd missed and had so wanted to see, I decided to treat myself and see whether my guest reviewer was right when she said it was awesome.
Ruby Sparks tells the story of Calvin (Paul Dano), a writer who is suffering from a severe case of writers block. His shrink gives him an assignment to write about his timid dog Scottie, and how people interact with him. That night Calvin dreams of a girl who does exactly what his shrink had suggested and so he writes about her instead. Calvin's dreams become his inspiration and soon, without any idea of the how's or why's, Calvin's dream girl, Ruby (Zoe Kazan), appears before him. Thinking he's gone insane, Calvin sets off to prove to himself that Ruby is a figment of his overactive imagination. But he is soon faced with the realisation that not only is Ruby real, whatever Calvin writes about her comes true. Giving him ultimate control over her thoughts, feelings, actions and emotions. The question is, what will he do with this power?
Ruby Sparks starts out as a quirky and endearing love story but quickly turns into something much more sinister. The film raises a lot of questions about control and power and how people deal with the sudden gain, and loss, of that power. While I found the premise kept me intrigued, I have to say that I wasn't expecting the film to take such a dark path, and I wasn't prepared for it either. In that sense, I felt that the trailer somewhat misguided audiences as to the type of film Ruby Sparks is.
Don't get me wrong, it's a brilliantly acted and well scripted film, but it's also very serious and very dark in places and I don't think the trailer prepares the audience for what lies ahead of them when they take their seats. Having said that, I did like the end result and I would recommend that others see Ruby, but I would want them to be more informed before they commit to it.
If quirky but thought provoking is your bag, and you can stomach the heavy stuff, Ruby Sparks is one for you. 7 out of 10.
Viewing Date - 2nd December 2012
UK Release Date - 12th October 2012
Cast Overview:
UK Release Date - 12th October 2012
Cast Overview:
Paul Dano ~ Calvin Weir-Fields
Zoe Kazan ~ Ruby Sparks
Chris Messina ~ Harry
Annette Benning ~ Gertrude
Antonio Banderas ~ Mort
Steve Coogan ~ Langdon Tharp
Elliott Gould ~ Dr Rosenthal
Director(s) ~ Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
Writer ~ Zoe Kazan
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