Love. Trust. Betrayal and self worth. Humiliation, insecurity, anger, selfishness and poison. When summing up "Die, My Dear" from Matthew Kalamane, these were the first words that jumped into my head. I also began thinking other strange thoughts that do relate to this film, just not in a direct way. Or maybe they do? I began thinking of the massive divide between generations. "Baby boomers" or members of "generation X" are so far from today's young adults, that it can seem we're from different planets. Sure, some staple characteristics remain the same but truth be told... the feelings on couples, spousal loyalty and marriage are so completely different now days. In today's world, divorce and break-ups are common place and even -gasp- normal. The general thought is: Let us jump in and get married. If it doesn't work, or you become a cheating bastard... that's it. No big deal. Divorce and done. However, the older generations took matters much more gravely. Today it's not as personal as it once was. Humiliation, in the marital sense, along with love and anger have become outdated. Divorce or split up and move on. Sure, we still have the crazies, or traditionalists, but for the most part when a break-up occurs one simply blames the other person and leaves. This wasn't always the case. There was a time when divorce was something to hide from the world. Something that just didn't happen. If it did happen, most of my opening statements would come into play and things were much... much more personal. Being a widow or widower was a much better alternative to a divorcee. As luck would have it, causing oneself to be widowed generally felt a lot better as well. Some revenge for the soul. I may be completely off the mark when writing this, but I believe on some level Matthew Kalamane had these things in mind when writing this film. Having an older generation in the leading roles, telling their story, left much more meat on the bone when thinking plot and character development. The ideals and traditional instincts of previous generations fit so much more nicely than trying to make a younger couple, divorced... and believable in their roles. There's just so much more to work with. The premise of "Die, My Dear" is so damn simple and familiar it's perfect. Two people who both decide to poison each other on the same night. The familiar cliché actually works in this film simply because almost immediately, we can all relate. Not in the sense we've all went around poisoning people, rather that we understand the concept. Sometimes, a familiar plot actually helps us connect with a story. In this case, it's perfect. Then however, we start getting into the real good stuff of the film. That old love - hate relationship thing that generally makes a good story. It's easy to say these emotions are the exact opposite. In reality however, they kind of go hand in hand and walk a very thin line. Can you actually love someone without hating them at times? I think not. If a relationship is based on complete indifference what kind is it? That's where "Die, My Dear" really begins to play with our thoughts. That's also how a film containing essentially two people, manages to hold your attention for an hour and a half. The ups and downs, accusations and finally, dare I write... possible forgiveness. It occurs to me that the possibility of dying brings this particular couple closer than they had ever been. Do they actually die? You'll have to watch the film to find out. But the trip, the journey to the end is a good one. One that may actually make you question your own relationship, if you happen to be in one. But the irony... oh hell - what a night. Technically I was apprehensive at the start of the movie. The opening segment, which also happens to be a good part of the closing one, was dark, bouncy and generally had me expecting a sub-par film throughout. I was wrong. This title ended up being a well shot, well thought out production for the most part. As for the cast themselves? Don't even get me started on how impressed I was. You should understand that aside from some "hallucinations" here and there, this movie is carried by two people. That's it, that's all. Yes, there were a few awkward pieces... but for the vast majority I was totally thrilled with Thomas Burks and Deirdre McCauley's performances as our two leads. They embodied a long term relationship suffering... so damn well. And yes, they presented characters that were doing a horrible thing, yet still deeply cared for one and other. What does that mean exactly? Watch and find out! In the end "Die, My Darling" reminds us that a solid story and an excellent cast and crew transcend big, massive budgets. If you have a good story, and are willing to go the distance and do the work, something good awaits. "Die, My Darling" is just as the title sounds, and so much more. When viewers, such as myself, end up thinking beyond the script... you know you've done something right. As a full feature film? I would recommend giving this one a shot. I can almost guarantee you'll get more than you bargained for. In a good way... of course.
