Chasing Valentine – A Fantastic Story About Overcoming Grief
Chasing Valentine is an intelligent look at overcoming grief hidden in a love story that oozes quality. High production values, a very strong cast and a plot that understands its audience make this independent film stand out from the crowd.
What’s It All About?
Unable to get over the tragic loss of the love of his life and stuck with a day job of editing adult videos, Chase meets an unlikely ally, Valentine – a call girl who works under the various personas she has created for herself. Is Chase ready to uncover Valentine’s dark secrets?
My Opinion
It is hard to believe that this film is indeed an independent project. The high quality and production values almost reflect that of a major studio. What’s more, the cinematography, lighting, camera work and editing is to such a high standard that this can be considered a benchmark to other filmmakers. The story arc is perfectly-paced and rolls along at a very steady speed from start to finish. Nothing is rushed and we have a clear beginning, middle and end, something so simple but essential in making a film feel organic. The camera isn’t too adventurous because it doesn’t need to be, the scenes are perfectly framed in the simplest of ways to make sure it is telling the story the right way.
Writers Neal Avram Schneider and Navin Ramaswaran have given us an excellent story, producing a script that can easily engross us and the rest of the audience, submerging us for the 90 minute duration. You may be forgiven for thinking this is just another love story on the surface but you would be most definitely wrong. This is more about dealing with and overcoming grief and learning to move on with your life. The writing attempts to explore a number of different genres without making the plot awkward, uncomfortable or disjointed. Yes, this does include a love story, but it is not what the story is about, we also have some great lighter moments thanks mainly to Brad and a darker sub-plot intertwined into it all.
We learn in a flashback at the start of the movie that Chase had an argument with his then girlfriend, Scarlet, during a Halloween party in which she leaves him and then dies on the way home. The leaves Chase devastated, who hides in his room, refusing to move on and burying himself in his work as an editor of adult movies. His room remains the same and he refuses to get rid of Scarlet’s things. Chalk boards which cover the room have the same drawings on as when Scarlet died. Chase is not ready to move on with his life. His good friend Brad tries is hardest to help Chase get over the tragedy but he is not ready.
The storyline between Chase and Valentine was very close to perfect. From the way they meet, to the satisfying conclusion we are given between the two, the story arc was just about flawless. The acting and the chemistry between Adam and Gwenlyn was electric and very pleasing to watch develop on-screen. I loved it how Adam very slowly comes out of his grief and warms to Valentine, at the same time Valentine draws closer and closer to Chase letting down the walls she holds up hiding her true self. How Valentine really brings out the best in Chase, and how he also helps Valentine to be herself and not hide behind a false front. The character development was fantastic.
The only point about the story that I was unsure about was the sub plot involving Valentine’s friend, Alex. I felt like that this could have been given a little more development and a little more weight to it. I do think it was an important part of the character of Valentine and ultimately had an impact at the conclusion of the movie, for that reason I feel that it should have had slightly more development and screentime. We can presume details about this sub-plot and the character of Alex without the need to be spoon fed them, but it felt anti-climatic at the conclusion of the storyline. I felt as though we didn’t have enough development of the character of Alex to fully invest in him which meant the ending didn’t have as much impact as I felt it could have had. This being a sub-plot, we can be forgiven about the details not being as complete and developed as I would have liked.
Notable Performances
Adam Langton played Chase. Adam was outstanding in his role of Chase. It was very easy to sympathize with him and really get behind the character. The performance came across as being extremely natural, which meant we felt all of the emotions he we through during the course of the film. I how the character grew in confidence as his relationship with Valentine began to grow. He definitely has an extremely bright future ahead of him.
Gwenlyn Cumyn played Valentine. Gwenlyn also gave us an outstanding performance. The two leads seemed to feed off each other very well. He character was very complex and had a lot of layers to her but Gwenlyn did not seem fazed one bit such a tricky task and really brought the character to life. I found her bubbly personality come through the character, but she knew how to take Valentine down a dark path and this is when her ability as an actor really came into play. I see another bright future for Gwenlyn..
Brad Cowan played Brad. I really liked Brad. He was there for a lot of the comic relief but did so in a very sophisticated way. None of it was brash, overpowering or vulgar, which could have very easily been, but he was able to complement the cast and the script with a great performance. I really liked this character and he helped to balance out the characters of Chase and Valentine. Brad played him with just the right amount of sophistication in a very mature and experienced performance. Yet again, superb performance from Brad Cowan.
The Verdict
This movie ticks all the right boxes. We have a superb cast all bringing the best out of each other, the writers delivering something truly special and most importantly the director and crew making sure that this is done to the highest of standards. The plot is intelligent, funny and interesting which makes it a pleasure to watch. The final product is a superb piece of independent film that everyone involved in can be proud of.
