Tell Me When (2020)
7/10
A truly UNIQUE romcom
11 May 2021
I am incredibly shocked to see the low rating here. I expected the average rating to be in the 7s. If nothing else, please take from my review that you should give this a chance!

Perhaps the issue is that these viewers went into it expecting something different. It is a romantic comedy but it's more layered, intimate, and subtle than the average film in this genre. Where so many romcoms go wrong is that the entire focus is on the romance, which is very often based upon only a couple interactions, unrealistic.

Quite the opposite with this one: the secondary characters were fleshed out, the location and setting was well represented. And the couple ACTUALLY spent enough time together, in situations where they could genuinely get to know each other, that you could believe they could realistically fall in love, not just infatuation or sexual attraction.

I don't want to give away spoilers but I will say that I enjoyed the comparisons between the main characters grandfather and grandmother's romance, and how it related to his relationship with his new friend. And the inclusion of others in their love story which gives a hint that sometimes the road to lifelong love isn't one grand gesture, but taking things slow, really getting to know each other, and building upon a friendship first.

Any successful long-term marriage/relationship, in real life, is based on friendship. That's something that most romance movies forget. There were also some stylistic choices that I felt did a great job finding a creative way to express the feelings we all experience when it comes to love.

Give this film a chance, if you are the sort of person who wants to watch a different kind of romcom. You'd have to go into it knowing that it's going to be more subtle. Not boring, just subtle. If you go into that attitude and expectation I think you'll have a better time

A wonderful film, representing Mexican cinema making really well, and something that I think over time more people will "get" and might even become a cult classic.
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