• Release year: 2024
• Directors: George Capacete and Ruby Capacete.
• Producer: Ruby Capacete.
• Screenplay by: George Capacete and Ruby Capacete.
• Cinematography by: Dana Fytelson.

Shotgun Commentary: very slow-paced, treacly slice of life.

Review

Maybe Forever follows Sofia (Ruby Capacete) and Greg (George Capacete), a couple who hasn’t been dating for long. They decide to take a day to get to know each other better, their favourite spots, food, past trauma, their current feelings towards each other, etc.

A ray of sunshine

Stories like this don’t usually take place in cinema. A film in which nothing really happens that features two people in love doing things that make them happy is a rarity indeed. More like a film on its own, it strongly reminds of those cliché revenge movies that start with an overly perfect family life or the perfect couple dynamic, until the bad guys kill everyone the protagonist loves. If you are an action-junkie, like yours truly, you might find yourself unconsciously waiting for the carnage that you consciously know will never happen.

Then again, what’s wrong with some positive vibes? The state of the world has slowly dragged us into a state of scepticism towards life, a state that is reflected by films and series alike. It is hard to imagine a good thing without worrying about the bad thing that will inevitably come right after. But, why should it? Maybe things can just be good, no prices to pay, no tragedies to balance the joy. In that sense, this film dares to dream, to share something that is simply that, a good experience.

Talk. Look. Repeat.

Still, the feature does not come without its flaws. Looking into the technique and style, close-ups and slo-mos reign supreme. Now, this is not an issue by itself, the problem comes when the structure is so predictable that you necessarily rely on the text to maintain the audience’s attention. In a film with such as slow pace and paused conversations, the editing needs to be more dynamic or changing in order to bring something useful to the experience.

The circle begins with a conversation where close-ups showing their body language and mid-shots of the couple to show their faces are all that’s used, followed by a silent sequence with more close-ups and mid-shots of the protagonists doing something aesthetically pleasing and conventionally romantic in slow motion. These two situations are repeated over and over until the film ends, which, like previously mentioned, wouldn’t be an issue had the textual aspect been different. Let’s elaborate on this.

Lonely words

The text is quite simple, bits and pieces of pretty generic experiences, cliché quotes, and disjointed confessions of love. Each sentence is spoken with a pause almost every three words, and with no trace of any feeling at all. Had it not been for the images, one might have thought it’s just two people reading random paragraphs from a book rather than having a conversation.

Both characters talk about how much they have learned in life and how different they are now from before, yet they don’t show any kind of uniqueness. Now, this averageness works in terms of making the story as universal as possible, but it does play a little too much with the line between relatable and soporific.

Humans vs robots

As for the acting, this is one of the most strange cases this writer has ever come across. Both actors perform quite believably. In fact, had this been a silent movie, they would have been quite perfect. They express so much with their eyes, facial expressions and body language.

Sadly, the same can not be said for their voices. It might have been the unnatural pauses in the speech, or the unnerving stability of their emotions, but they sound almost robotic. What seems to be a calm day ends up having such a lack of any other emotion that the speech begins to sound almost detached.

It is impossible for a human being to feel exactly the same thing for a whole day. Even when you are with your beloved, regular conversations have humour, playfulness, sadness, joy, etc. The fact that both protagonists remain in a psychologist-type of superficial calmness takes you away from the story a tad.

All in all, Maybe Forever brings up an interesting topic: joy. Its whole atmosphere and message are positive, inadvertently rebelling against all the twisted and angsty narratives that are so popular nowadays. While it does have some issues with the form and the delivery, it is an interesting project, especially for those who very much want to believe in love.

Advice to take from this movie:

• Not all moments need to be recorded in slow-mo.
• A bit of humour or thrill goes a long way.
• Not all love stories need to have a sad ending.

What’s your take? Have you watched Maybe Forever? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀