SXSW Review:
"I Will Make You Mine"
VOD Release Date: May 26, 2020
Rating: N/A Running Time: 79 minutes Not all franchise entries that play the SXSW Film Festival enjoy major studio backing and/or originate from genre offerings with a dedicated following. Take, for example, I Will Make You Mine, an unexpected threequel that wraps up a series of microbudget, black-and-white dramedies that arguably owes its existence to Richard Linklater’s Before Trilogy or Hal Hartley’s Henry FoolTrilogy. I Will Make You Mine follows director Dave Boyle’s 2011’s Surrogate Valentineand 2012’s Daylight Savings, which both played SXSW. Surrogate Valentine and Daylight Savings focused on the career and the romances of a fictionized version of moody indie pop singer-songwriter Goh Nakamura. I Will Make You Mine circles back to Nakamura’s life but with some significant differences. Firstly, Boyle steps aside to let Lynn Chen—who plays Nakamura’s platonic best friend Rachel—not only direct but to serve as its main creative force. After the slight and rambling Daylight Savings, which saw Rachel mostly sidelined while Nakamura took off an uneventful road trip, Chen’s installation as the sole credited screenwriter and as director works to the advantage of I Will Make You Mine. She brings a decidedly female perspective to I Will Make You Mine that not only refreshes this series but brings it to its natural conclusion. Chen’s decision to make Nakamura a background player in his own story is a smart one because the fictionalized Nakamura—as nice as he seems—is a fairly dreary wanderer who does not have much to offer except a few heartfelt songs. Instead, Chen shines the spotlight on the three intriguing adult women who surrounded Nakamura in Surrogate Valentine and Daylight Savings. Chen’s Rachel is now married but her feelings for Nakamura blossom into love as she grapples with her suspicions that her husband is committing adultery. Ayako Fujitani’s Erika struggles after her separation from Nakamura, the father of their young daughter Sachiko (Ayami Riley Tomine). Meanwhile, Nakamura’s infatuation with fellow musician Yea-Ming (real-life singer-songwriter Yea-Ming Chen) grow stronger. Chen gives equal time and consideration to the three distinctly different women who are only united by their connection to Nakamura. They also represent the best of a man who has allowed himself to drift through life for too long. Chen tries hard not to define Rachel, Erika, and Yea-Ming by their relationship to Nakamura. Each has their own set of problems to contend with, some created by Nakamura, others not. But this series is about Nakamura, so even when he is pushed aside by Chen, his presence is still felt in every scene. Where Chen truly succeeds is in allowing Rachel, Erika, and Yea-Ming to each speak in a loud and strong voice. Whereas Surrogate Valentine and Daylight Savings was mostly concerned with Nakamura’s state of mind, I Will Make You Mine provides greater understanding of the position each woman finds herself in and the significance of Nakamura in their life. But this also means it is hard to comprehend why Rachel, Erika, and Yea-Ming harbor romantic feelings for Nakamura. But, as Chen makes clear time and again, it is not Nakamura who is there to make Rachel, Erika, and Yea-Ming feel emotionally complete. The role of the woman who succeeds in making Nakamura theirs is to make him whole. Robert Sims Posted: April 11, 2020 Web site: https://schedule.sxsw.com/2020/films/2022974 |
|