Customer Reviews

What Happened Was... [VHS]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Jackie and Michael are on a first date. Jackie is a secretary in a law firm and Michael works as a paralegal in the same firm. The entire film takes place in Jackie's Manhattan apartment.

There is never a "true" comfortable moment on this date. These are two people who haven't dated in awhile and the discomfort is evident on their faces, in their body language, and in some of the bizarre comments that come out of their mouths.

Michael seems to feel the need to say things that demonstrate his superiority over Jackie. Jackie has mistakenly perceived Michael to be confident and is certain that he is in the process of writing a book -- she sees him take notes at work and he even pulls out a little notebook and takes a note during their date. She likes who she thinks he is but Michael isn't one to believe, easily, that he is liked.

The film feels almost like a play -- with the added benefit of closeups of their facial expressions. So much more of the drama occurs there than in their words (at least, until the end). The colors in the film are rich, dark -- solid, primary colors -- mainly blues and reds that soften a bit in intensity as the emotion increases.

Their conversation often takes opposite directions from each other -- Michael saying goofy, offbeat things (some are lies in an attempt to live up to Jackie's errant perception of him) -- and Jackie saying things and moving in ways intended to "seduce" (though awkwardly). And the conversation threads through a meal that Jackie has prepared and the consumption of one bottle after another of increasingly potent drinks. Jackie's comment near the beginning of the date, "I don't drink that much, you know, just sometimes at night -- sometimes on the weekends", makes me laugh (basically, just not when she's at work, I guess). Not that she comes off as an alcoholic -- it's just a funny line. But this is not a comedy.

There are moments in this film that are truly creepy: an eerie scene where Jackie is reading Michael a story that she has written -- almost unbelievable that she would read it to him, considering its content; an apartment across from Jackie's where a man is watching bizarre and racy films; the interior of Jackie's apartment -- almost suffocating in its primary colors, though roomy (too roomy for a secretary living in Manhattan), and she has "secret" rooms hidden behind gauzy drapes . . .

Their conversation rides the waves of innuendo, misunderstanding, defensiveness, Michael hiding behind Jackie's belief that many of his bizarre comments are just jokes, Jackie continually offering Michael more grace in the conversation than he deserves, Michael pretending he doesn't notice Jackie's advances, Jackie expressing herself in more "simple" terms than Michael's, Jackie revealing more and more about herself, and Michael folding deeper into Jackie's false perception of him . . . on and on until the emotion runs too high for one of them and results in a piercing honesty that feels like a "halt".

If your tastes run to "action" in films, this one will not fulfill you. But if you like to watch people, if you enjoy seeing into others' lives, if you think you're the only one who is awkward and uncomfortable . . . if you've forgotten how to connect with others now that you're older . . .

This film is one of my top 20 favorite films. I don't think it had a very wide run in the theatres but I remember seeing it reviewed by Siskel and Ebert and wanting to see it as soon as it was either at the theatre or on video in my town. I'm one of those older people who has forgotten how to "connect" (at least, with men). These two make me feel better.

Noonan and Sillas, pushing mid-life and on a first date, are so real, it's painful to watch. But if you appreciate excellent acting and character-driven drama, this movie is a must-see.

Someone, please, release this film on DVD so it doesn't disappear to tape rot! Forget the bells and whistles, the extra features - just put this on DVD, please.

The odd sounding title is significant, echoing one dark fairy tale within another. Life has a way of setting up these uncanny, parallel experiments. This is one of those rare gems that occassionally shows up on IFC or Sundance(where is the DVD?!)So if by chance you come across it some late night while zoning in a stream of phosphor-dot, cable trance, and if you're a fan of offbeat, 'talkie'/relationship movies, and completely turned off and away by the usual follow-the-numbers formula of insipid, unrealistic Hollywood 'romance' flicks, by all means, watch this, even seek it out, cause it's definitely one that will leave a lasting impression.

"What Happened Was...." is set entirely within the dark and claustrophobic confines of a small apartment, where two co-workers, Michael and Jackie(played to perfection by director Tom Noonan and Karen Sillas) are having their first date, and are for the first time, experiencing one another out and away from their prescribed, institutional and social roles.

It is said that people rarely see themselves as others do, as many go about unaware of their own particular conditioning and social masking. Such guises are always an impediment, brought about through mass societal disconnect and subsequent alienation. These two characters enter gradually, uneasily, into the realm of shirking those well-guarded, deep seated personal boundaries that hinder their ability to connect honestly with other people. They tip-toe along, but the course of interaction throughout the evening brings them both to critical mass truth of Self in the presence of the other.

Watching these two characters move away from, and sometimes back again to, their familiar roles and guises, taking small chances, only to backpedal to deceptive sure-footedness, ultimately wading into the murky waters of liberating honesty and the realistically awkward, sometimes fumbled strides towards intimacy, is at once humorous, unsettling, and towards the story's conclusion, so brutally honest that it's actually uncomfortable, almost painful to experience. The social masking, the trappings of the "first date," have long been been cast away, and these two damaged, lost souls are stripped naked in front of each other.

The tension is palpable, you feel their embarrassment and desperation...that awful, futile bitterness of instinctively knowing one has went out on a limb in the most personal of ways, and utterly failed at what the heart hoped for...for a variety of reasons. For both of these characters are typically packing the considerable amount of emotional baggage that people do, having reached that point in their lives where it manifests in ways that forces acknowledgement of what is sorely lacking; fueling needs, passions, longings. As I said, it leaves a lasting impression.

Well, I didn't mean for that to sound like such a downer, and in fact, "What Happened Was..." is actually refreshing and liberating in its way. Honesty is always unique. There's a good deal of humor to it all, although a bit skewered and dark. A dark fairy tale, and not all of them have happy endings. However, even though things don't necessarily go as planned for the characters, you can come away from this story feeling that perhaps after such a daunting, intimate exposure of themselves, they may naturally(or inexplicably?)end up bound together, and for the better. Or not. Maybe they're doomed to their own peculiarities and social guises.

This was quite the labor of love for actor/director Tom Noonan(also see his film, "The Wife")and is astonishingly honest in its simplicity, in what it reveals. To quote Carl Jung, "Who looks outside dreams; who looks inside, awakes."

It may not seem that the awkwardness of a first date between typically lonely New York City coworkers would hold much interest, but Tom Noonan's film has enough twists and turns to make it memorable. His writing and directing are incisive and original, but his greatest coup was the casting of Karen Sillas as the offbeat law office secretary whose seemingly mundane life masks some uncomfortable secrets. Sillas, an indie film favorite, is one of the best actresses in films today; the power of her performance as it builds in nuance and intensity must be seen to be believed. The movie will definitely make you think twice about having a first date in a 'neutral' (and public) location. Highly recommended. END

...any scene in the movie resembling Karen Sillas' depiction on the slipcover (too dang bad!)
...an indication from Amazon.com or the vendor that the VHS tape I received would be a screening copy, not supposed to be for sale (subtitled to that effect several times during playback).

What Happened Was...
...a first date between two introverts, socially deviant in angular dichotomy.
...awkwardness, tension and angst.
...wonderful acting by Karen and Tom Noonan (also director).

I'm very surprised this movie hasn't been release on dvd. Many of the reviews already written do a good job of explaining the movie. I would only add that to me the movie is about two lonely people each with their own illusions, about themselves and the other, which are shattered within the small confines of a dimly lit studio apartment.