What If? (2013)
Certified: 15
Duration: 102 minutes
Directed by: Michael Dowse
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe Kazan, Megan Park, Adam Driver, Mackenzie Davis, Rafe Spall, Jemima Rooper, Jordan Hayes, Meghan Heffem, Tommie-Amber Pirie, Adam Fergus
KRS Releasing Ltd
What If? is a Canadian-British production, originally released under the title The F Word. It’s a romantic comedy that banks on the on-screen chemistry of its two leading actors and which will fit snugly with the likes of 500 Days of Summer (2009) and, even more so, When Harry Met Sally (1989) as it poses the same questions as this picture.
Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan seem to have gelled really well. They are in synchrony and will easily fit everyone’s bill of how a couple should look like even though, as per the perennial rule of the romantic comedy genre, they do not know it yet and so just want to be friends… for now.
Wallace (Daniel Radcliffe) has a broken heart and has just dropped out of medical school while Chantry (Zoe Kazan) is an animator. The two meet at common friend Allan’s (Adam Driver) party while Wallace is playing with fridge magnets. Meanwhile, Allan – Wallace’s roommate from college and cousin to Chantry – meets Nicole (Mackenzie Davis) and the two are soon together.
Wallace and Chantry keep their relationship under control even if the attraction between the two is obvious, because there is a hurdle to all this chemistry. Chantry has a boyfriend named Ben (Rafe Spall) who works at the UN. The two live together and seem to be happy with each other. On the other hand, something more than a friendship starts to blossom between Wallace and Chantry.
From the start, it is obvious that they are made for each other; the only problem is that they do not know it yet or are simply delaying the inevitable. For the audience, the beauty lies in watching the two actors interact and sharing their intimate moments.
It’s a fun movie experience watching the relationship develop and build, and all the silly stuff and little inconsequential things that end up forming this relationship.
Radcliffe is slowly but surely shedding away all the vestiges of Hogwarts and all, as he becomes more of a young Hugh Grant from the days of Four Weddings and a Funeral. He is bumbling and a bit goofy but he looks sincere and his face reads like an open book.
Kazan is simply ‘pixieness’ incarnated while Taylor and the beautiful Mackenzie provide well-honed supporting turnouts which add flesh to the picture.
Director Michael Dowse (The Gooner) knows the strengths of his cast and he lets them play it their way, feeding off each other.
On the cover, this is a movie about two friends who want to be more than that, but in reality, it’s also about life and trying to find a way through it with someone special.