Director: Maria Ripoll
Writer: Rafa Russo
Cinematographer: Javier Salmones
Sylvia Weld: Lena Headley ("Remains of the Day")
Victor Bukowski: Douglas Henshall ("Angels & Insects")
Louise: Penelope Cruz ("Jamon, Jamon", "Belle Epoque")
Rafael: Gustavo Salmeron
Dave Summers: Mark Strong
Don Miguel: Eusebio Lazaro |
I must have been one of very few people who were less than bowled over by "Sliding Doors", apart that is from falling in love with John Hanna's accent all over again. It wasn't that "Sliding Doors" was a bad film, it was just that it was so polished, so picture perfect.
"If Only" has a seductive Scot and a similar premise - "if only I'd acted differently I'd still be with the person I love", but that's where the similarities end. "If Only" is a Spanish production, written in English by first time screenwriter Rafa Russo (the script won the award for Best Screenplay at this year's Montreal Film Festival), directed by first time director Maria Ripoll, with a cast of English, Scottish and Spanish actors. The characters are anything but perfect, either to look at or in their behaviour; there are rough edges throughout this film that make it all the more credible and enjoyable.
Victor Bukowski (Douglas Henshall) is a struggling young actor - his agent isn't much good and Victor has a bad habit of talking back to directors. Not only this but his ex-girlfriend Sylvia (Lena Headey), with whom he believes he is still in love, is about to marry a spunky guy she met at the gym, Dave (Mark Strong).
All his strategies to win back Sylvia fail. So Victor seeks to drown his sorrows in a nearby pub and pours out his heart to a sympathetic bar maid, before stumbling out into the rain soaked streets to "end it all". Enter two Cervantes quoting dustmen who start him on a journey back to the fateful August Bank Holiday afternoon when, as Victor believes, he spoiled everything by confessing his infidelity to Sylvia. But instead of simply being able to re-make history to his liking, Victor finds himself on a journey of self-discovery and learns that human nature is anything but predictable, and relationships anything but simple.
Film Festival goers may have already seen "If Only" under its alternative title "The Man with Rain in His Shoes" - clearly the distributors decided that the more poetic title was less likely to attract the broader audience they were seeking. And "If Only" certainly deserves a wide audience.
"If Only" is a fun filled romantic comedy, with an effective touch of magical realism, that successfully avoids easy and cliched resolution.
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