In Other Words [Video] – The Good Men Project

 

By Omeleto

.

.

A former couple has arranged to return each other’s things one evening after a period of not seeing one another, giving back books and t-shirts that they’ve left at one another’s homes.

Their conversation is awkward, full of small talk and stammering pauses that belie their real feelings. They attempt to hang out, dancing around what they want to say — until their real feelings inevitably bubble to the surface, exposing the hurt and misunderstandings that absence hasn’t softened.

This short romantic dramedy — co-written by stars Lola Blanc and Kenny Lucas, and directed by Blanc — is a charming film about a bittersweet situation, as two former lovers navigate a tricky transition out of the hopes and dreams of romance into an uneasy truce. Set over the course of an evening, the usually gleaming look of romance films is darker and more saturated than usual, hinting at the moodier themes of the narrative.

The dexterous, witty writing’s humor and sharp emotional observations come from the use of subtitles, which flash each character’s real feelings and thoughts as they talk. It’s a gambit we’ve seen in classic films like “Annie Hall,” but applied here in a rawer, more emotionally direct way. The conceit is very funny and relatable, and the comedy cleverly comes from the gap between what’s pretended on the surface and the rawness and vulnerability of the emotions underneath.

Blanc and Lucas have a back-and-forth that feels lived-in, familiar and even affectionate, and it’s easy to believe them as a couple with a simpatico sense of intelligence, interests and humor. But as their conversation escalates — and their feelings can’t so easily be disguised — viewers get a glimpse of the larger conflicts and rough edges that likely brought their romance to an end. The easygoing comedy shifts into a more melancholic register, as the subtitles express the real anguish and hurt that the pair have not quite gotten over. They still are bewildered about why two seemingly compatible people did not quite work out romantically, and even when they negotiate a ceasefire after their verbal dust-up, the question still hangs over them.

“In Other Words” is a sharp, funny snapshot about the vagaries of love and communication, even when the romance has come to an end. It uses a clever conceit to illuminate the gap between the words we say and the emotions we feel, showing how we can use words to protect and insulate ourselves from deep emotional pain. “Communication is key” is a trope of supposedly good emotional advice, but it’s much harder and trickier to put into practice, especially when words can be weapons and it’s easy to dissemble about our real thoughts and feelings. That’s the small but poignant tragedy in a broken romance sometimes. We can riff and banter about any number of topics with the people we love. But when it comes to speaking from the heart, we have a hard time hearing each other — even when we’re often saying the same thing.

 

Transcript provided by YouTube:

00:28

good to see you it’s been a minute i

00:31

thanks for bringing everything and i

00:33

don’t know how this one ends

00:37

i should probably warn you it doesn’t

00:45

do you have anything in mind i do

00:48

i know how much you missed this

01:12

because we made the exchange so

01:15

task complete right i do like

01:20

checking tasks off the list

01:31

sorry do you wanna just like hang out

01:34

for a second and talk like humans who

01:39

i could make us some tea or something

01:43

i mean what is there to talk about you

01:47

like life and stuff like how are you

01:50

i guess oh i’m i’m great

01:55

i’ve been traveling all around the

01:59

doing stand-up so i’m you know i’m good

02:04

you hate traveling i do hate you

02:12

what do you want i have uh earl grey

02:16

ginger chamomile what am i saying it’s

02:19

nighttime it’s chamomile

02:20

i knew that so what about you

02:27

i’ve been great really hitting my stride

02:31

i feel like the writing’s just been

02:34

flowing out of me which is cool

02:36

glad to hear it yeah i guess that’s how

02:38

breakups work though right you’re in all

02:40

pain and the art comes out of that

02:57

nothing huh i just see you’re still

03:01

hanging out with dudes you’ve hooked up

03:04

i thought we’d establish that there’s

03:06

nothing wrong with me having friends who

03:09

though yeah but it is kind of weird that

03:11

all your friends are white dudes you’ve

03:15

interesting um not true but interesting

03:19

hey speaking of white people how’s your

03:21

assistant doing the one who

03:22

uh wears mini skirts to your house in

03:24

the middle of the day who you’ve been

03:26

parading around on instagram

03:28

don’t you think that’s a little

03:29

slut-shaming and for your information

03:31

she’s been amazingly helpful

03:33

so glad to hear it she can’t tell the

03:36

difference between you and your but i’m

03:37

sure she’s doing an amazing job with

03:40

at least she doesn’t constantly

03:43

enlighten me who was it that was

03:45

constantly criticizing you

03:47

you were just a little naggy sometimes

03:52

maybe i wouldn’t have needed to nag if

03:54

you’d behave like an actual grown-up

03:57

instead of making me clean up after you

03:59

all the time like i’m your goddamn

04:02

who still plays with wrestling action

04:05

because it’s very therapeutic and if i

04:09

it would have been very difficult for me

04:10

to pay for everything all the time

04:13

you know what you sound like please

04:15

white woman explain to me what i sound

04:18

sorry what does my whiteness have to do

04:19

with anything maybe you should ask one

04:22

oh wait maybe i’ll ask one of your

04:24

ex-girlfriends because surely at least

04:26

one of them must be black right oh wait

04:29

i am still waiting to hear what i sound

04:30

like i was gonna say you sound like a

04:32

trump supporter then your entire family

04:35

okay it was one and i hate that dude he

04:38

you’re his only black friend and he

04:40

thinks knowing you makes him not racist

04:42

it doesn’t work that way of course it

04:43

doesn’t he’s super racist

04:45

and that’s probably why we called him

04:47

uncle dave what about slaves

04:53

welcome home yeah been here the whole

05:03

i don’t think you’re naggy i don’t think

05:07

you’re a trump supporter

05:18

uh how about a breakup hug

05:37

i apologize for you know wasting your

05:45

oh um i’ll see you around

06:11

did you ever really care did you ever

—

This post was previously published on YouTube.

***

If you believe in the work we are doing here at The Good Men Project and want a deeper connection with our community, please join us as a Premium Member today.

Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS. Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.

—
Photo credit: Screenshot from video