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IN THE SEARCH OF A MIDNIGHT KISS
Written & Directed by Alex Holdridge
Produced by Seth Caplan & Scoot McNairy
Released by IFC Films
USA. 98 min. Not Rated
With Scott McNairy, Sara Simmonds, Brian Matthew McGuire & Katy Luong

Weaker on character but stronger on plot, In Search of a Midnight Kiss is a Before Sunrise for the digital age. But instead of meeting on a train ride to Vienna, these fools in love link up on Craigslist after Wilson (Scott McNairy)—an aspiring young script writer caught in the lovelorn doldrums—is urged by his best friend to post a personal ad for a New Year’s Eve companion. Wilson hesitates; he’s tempted by the instant payoff of cyberdating but wonders if it’s a bit sleazy. Compromising with his snarky sensibilities, he writes “Misanthrope Seeks Misanthrope” and waits for the phone to ring.

Much to Wilson’s surprise, the respondent is Vivian (Sarah Simmonds), a pretty, blond Texan who sublimates her troubled relationship with a hick ex-boyfriend through chain-smoking, nastiness, and a caffeinated jitter. Luckily for Wilson—and the audience—this abrasive character quickly softens into a lithe young woman simply looking for companionship. As for Wilson, he’s mostly looking to get laid, and resolutely hangs onto Vivian’s coattail as they promenade through downtown LA, dogging her wild mood swings at every corner.

Director Alex Holdridge’s Los Angeles is informed by Woody Allen’s Manhattan and colored by the unapologetic romance of an era gone by. Treated with the type of affection usually reserved for Paris and New York, the city almost becomes the only character that matters. The camera glides playfully across a landscape of abandoned old theaters and empty streets, creating an exquisite black-and-white cinematic postcard that, even without a plot, could very well stand alone.

And yet the script is strong and the acting seamless. Jacob (Brian Matthew McGuire), the want ad instigator, is scrumptious and entirely believable as a good friend, a cool cat, and a young man in love. His relationship with Min (Katy Luong)—a fun loving vixen who shares an apartment with the two boys—plays out like a rarely seen scrap of twentysomething life: they love each other, they laugh together, but now and again, we notice Min’s wandering eye. Though not sufficiently full of sex and strife to tempt most filmmakers, their dynamics are unquestionably real and poignant.  

While the film reaches some emotional depth, it’s the banter, the boys, and the city that make it memorable. And as it closes on New Year’s morning with an impromptu rendition of the Scorpions power ballad “Wind of Change,” I think we all feel a bit drunk on friendship and possibility. Yana Litovsky
August 1, 2008