Meg Ryan's first directorial foray into rom-coms is a mature, loving feat - thanks to her and David Duchovny. Our What Happens Next review:
not only helped create some of the best of the genre, but she also worked alongside the woman who knew how to wrestle the often unruly subgenre into potent submission: Nora Ephron. In their four collaborations together, Ryan obviously gleaned the essence of what made Ephron rom-coms so special, because she’s infused that into her own directorial foray into the genre,Let’s be real: For the cynics, rom-coms are cloying exercises in saccharine misery.
The claustrophobic and transient nature of a small airport is an inspired backdrop for the pair to at first bicker, then thaw, then eventually get honest with one another. Willa in particular has been stewing for two decades over the end of their once-loving relationship, and she’s forceful in challenging William to finally get honest with her about why he left.
Ryan and Duchovny both have the charm, mileage in life, and acting chops to adeptly shift from comedy to drama on a dime, which makeswork very well. Arguably, younger actors working with this premise would entirely dismantle its plausibility. The potency of poking at lifelong regrets would be rendered a melodramatic cringefest. But that’s far from the case with this duo, who not only have an engaging rapport, but portray their characters’ soft underbellies with vulnerability and maturity.
As the night of stasis in the snow deepens, the desolation of the powered-down airport peels away the artifice they carefully constructed around themselves. The shallow “small talk” they initially both mock eventually clears the path for them to confront the long-held hurts they’ve individually nursed in their hearts for decades.
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