Equal parts Kevin Smith (Clerks), Steven Soderbergh (Sex, Lies, and Videotape), and Richard Linklater (Before Sunrise/Sunset), writer-director Alex Holdridge’s In Search of a Midnight Kiss is an intriguing little L.A.-based indie. While initially off-putting – much like its two main characters – it slowly grows on you and becomes more affecting along the way.
Wilson (Scoot McNairy) has been in a funk since his girlfriend left him some months ago and is now halfway around the world. He’s another lonely soul in Los Angeles, and one of the film’s first scenes finds him masturbating to a photoshopped picture of his roommate’s girlfriend. Of course, roommate Jacob (Brian McGuire) and girlfriend Min (Kathleen Luong) walk in on him in the act.
Now, in your usual comedy (see: American Pie), this would a racy throwaway gag that, at best, displays the desperation of the main character. But Midnight Kiss turns it into a major plot point, referenced throughout the film and determining the course of two major plot threads.
Anyway, it’s New Year’s Eve, and Jacob convinces Wilson to try and find someone. Using as little effort as possible, he places an advert on Craig’s List: “Misanthrope seeks misanthrope.” Soon he gets a call from a quick-tongued girl who wants to meet him in a few hours. No name, no description; “to be honest, I’m meeting four other guys before you, and I’m going to choose one of you to spend the rest of the night with.”
Wilson agrees, grudgingly, cleans himself up, and eventually meets Vivian (Sara Simmonds), a young, attractive woman who doesn’t want to waste any time. She chats with him for a few minutes, sends him to another table while she conducts another “interview”, and then calls him back. He’s the winner, apparently, and the duo take off on foot for their New Year’s date – she won’t get in a car with a stranger, of course.
The rest of the film is basically a redux of Linklater’s Before Sunrise, as Wilson and Vivian walk and talk about life and love and everything in between that can sustain a 90-minute film. Upon introduction, these characters haven’t done much to endear themselves to us, but by the end, it’s been a real pleasure to spend time in their company. Short asides feature Jacob, who is about to propose to Min, and Jack (Robert Murphy), Vivian’s raving, cartoonish ex-boyfriend.
Murphy also contributes to the best aspect of the film: gorgeous B&W cinematography that showcases an urban L.A. that is rarely seen in cinema. An abandoned cinema and the shut-down Los Angeles stock exchange, among other sites, are turned into unusually romantic destinations.
The same could be said for the city of L.A.: much of Midnight Kiss feels like a (realistic) love letter to the city. It makes a nice comparison/addition to Thom Anderson’s Los Angeles Plays Itself.
One complaint: Vivian’s revelation towards the end didn’t quite ring true for me, and unnecessarily takes focus off the relationship between the two leads.
