Fool me "Once" - this film is falsely advertised.

Rating: 5/10 (24 July 2007)

I've been meaning to see this for awhile. Well, I finally did. What a scam. Watching the trailer, you'd think you'd be in for a nice romance (I don't care much for romantic pieces, except when they're low-key and honest a la "Before Sunrise/Sunset"). The trailer felt like magic. And truth be told, the film does start out very nicely. I loved the first song they played together in the music shop. There was chemistry, and I thought this was well on it's way toward greatness. But to my dismay, it fell apart. Why? Well, going back to that trailer (and even the film's poster) - you're set up to think these two are going to really hit it off. But the fact of the matter is that after the guy learns she has a kid, things slid downhill fast. For one thing, he is way more in to her than vice versa. She's still married, and she wants to see if things can still work out with her separated husband. One wants to slap the "Guy" across the face and say, hey mate - you're wasting your time! Not only that, but there's one song that plays to completion where the "Girl" walks around the neighborhood block at night in one seemingly uninterrupted take - it went on too long. After awhile, I felt like this film was more about the love of music and performing than a love story between the two. That bothered me. I must say this though: there are some very good songs; that's the film's strength. Again, the "Guy" began to get pathetic. The loving feelings weren't mutual it seemed, and that was disappointing not to mention a tad dull. At the end he gets her a piano?!? Please. Ugh, I felt cheated.