Raindance Film Festival: Love is Thicker Than Water
Love is Thicker Than Water
Directed by Ate de Jong and Emily Harris
Starring Johnny Flynn, Lydia Wilson, Juliet Stevenson, Henry Goodman and Ellie Kendrick
Screening at Raindance September 23rd, 2017
by Joanna Orland
A universal love story of boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl; Love is Thicker Than Water dilutes a classic tale in mind-numbing fashion. The romance between Arthur (Flynn) and Vida (Wilson) seems very superficial, as they spend the majority of the movie immersed in physical displays of affection. The real story lies within their families.
Vida comes from a wealthy Jewish background, while Arthur a Welsh working class one. Class and cultural differences abound, the pair struggle to make their relationship work. The familial cast is comprised of a handful of colourful characters, and their dynamics are much more interesting than Vida and Arthur’s.
The film is lovingly made in the sense that you can tell it’s a personal story for co-directors Ate de Jong and Emily Harris. Johnny Flynn not only has a starring role, but also acts as music supervisor, saturating the film with dreamy folk. The amount of music, along with waffling dialogue, somehow dulls the senses. Shots are technically good, using some very artistic visuals and animations, but the scenes continually miss their edit points, creating a wish-washy pace.
There are some nice moments in the film, notably from the artistic merit of its visuals. The rambling realism of the scenes don’t do it any favours, as Love is Thicker Than Water lacks the potency it needs to make a splash.
