Dating is rough and for The Boy Downstairs it shows how painfully awkward lost love can become when your new neighbour is the one that got away.
Having broken up three years earlier, Diana moves back to New York to find that her ex-boyfriend Ben shares the same building. This film is a wonderful commentary on dating and relationships and life. The writing is so well done that each scene flows despite the many unannounced jumps between past and present. With wonderful banter and awkward pauses, the two lead actors share wonderful chemistry that radiates off the screen. Deirdre O’Connell as the owner of the apartments and Diana’s new friend is wonderfully charming and steals every scene she features in. Although underutilised towards the end, Diana’s best friend lends her own story to the feature and presents a harsh truth and reality with her own ideas of dating and hook up culture in society.
Zosia Mamet of Girls fame was mesmerising as the lead Diana. She not only displayed the awkwardness of her situation but kept the audience engaged in every aspect of her life and interaction within the film. Her character was so well written that she became a fully rounded character where we really rooted for her even when she made mistakes. The film was painfully honest and had a surprising ending for the tone of film.
The apartment was a wonderful static setting for the first time director and the film’s writer Sophie Brooks to explore. The film is definitely worth a watch and can be the perfect relationship film, single film or post break up film with every raw emotion bleeding from the screen into each of the audience’s hearts.
The film featured during the American Essentials Film Festival at Palace Centro Cinemas.
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