Peter and Vandy

I took a break from my Oscar-nominated films to watch a film on my instant stream queue that was only available until the 9th called "Peter and Vandy". Holy moly what an amazing find! It's movies like these that slip through the cracks, but when you happen to see them you feel as though you've gotten the wind knocked out of you. The acting, the story, the setting, the cinematography, the soundtrack, my word the soundtrack!

If "(500) Days of Summer" met "Memento" and the two gave birth to a child, it would be a tragic yet totally hip love story named "Peter and Vandy". The film is told out of chronological order, thus you really must pay attention to details such as a bouquet of flowers, clothing that the actors are wearing, and a picnic basket at one point to deduct the exact moment in the relationship, as opposed to "(500) Days of Summer" in which numbers flash on the screen letting the audience know the exact point in the relationship.

Peter (Jason Ritter) is a neurotic, adorably awkward contempo hipster who hits it off with disarmingly confident Vandy (Jess Weixler) and somehow musters up the courage to ask her out on a date. I won't go into details from there, because frankly it gets a little confusing, but suffice it to say that both actors do a beyond outstanding job. One fight scene in particular was so realistic that I found myself clenching my jaw at the tension and wanting to leave as silently as possible as if I were actually in the room with them!

A third actor in the film was the bloody amazing soundtrack. My goodness was the music good. When the flickering gritty urban imagery of New York at night combined with the sounds of Animal Collective's "Fireworks" --> goosebumps. Songs by Frightened Rabbit, The National, Menomena, and Patrick Wolf were also featured and they were all mind-blowing in their specific scenes.

It's under-the-radar movies like "Peter and Vandy", "Broken English", "2 Days in Paris", "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset" that I wish were recognized more often. But then again, I cannot pretend that the pretentious liberal arts student in me selfishly doesn't like to find and keep these kinds movies all to myself and only tell those I deem worthy enough about.