Dot the I (2003)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Matthew Parkhill

Writer:

Matthew Parkhill (written by)

Release Date:

31 October 2003 (Spain)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Danger is in the details.

Plot:

Young lovers in London are wrapped up in a love triangle that may not be exactly what it seems.

Plot Keywords:

Love Triangle | Wedding | Camera | Audition | Hotel

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Gael García Bernal	...	Kit Winter
Natalia Verbeke	...	Carmen Collazo
James D'Arcy	...	Barnaby F. Caspian
Tom Hardy	...	Tom
Charlie Cox	...	Theo
Yves Aubert	...	Maitre D'
Myfanwy Waring	...	Carmen's Friend
Michael Webber	...	Landlord
Jonathan Kydd	...	Burger Bar Manager
Michael Elwyn	...	Hotel Manager
Len Collin	...	Hotel Security
John Pearson	...	Kit's Father
Tito Heredia	...	Flamenco Guitarist
Olayo Gimenez	...	Flamenco Singer
Richard Clifford	...	Registrar

Also Known As:

El punto sobre la I (Spain)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality/nudity, language and some violence.

Runtime:

USA:92 min

Country:

UK | Spain | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Brazil:16 | Chile:14 | Japan:R-15 | Singapore:M18 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Alquimia Cinema

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [Matthew Parkhill]doctor giving bad news in the hospital.

Quotes:

Kit Winter: What harm is there if you see me just once? Would you like to see me beg? Believe me, I'm no stranger to humiliation.
[Gets on knees]
Carmen Collazo: Get up.
Kit Winter: A coffee.
Carmen Collazo: No.
Kit Winter: One glass of water. In a brightly lit public place.
Carmen Collazo: Nope.
Kit Winter: Ok, we don't even have to talk to each other. We don't even have to sit together.
Carmen Collazo: Nope.
Kit Winter: You sit on one side of the room and I sit on the other.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Features Det sjunde inseglet (1957)

au contraire, to the negativity...I say Bravo

Having seen most of Bernal's films, or at least everything available in the US, I've grown to like him greatly as an actor, thus explaining my motivation for renting this. The description given on the jacket, added with the blurb equating it with Memento (which was a very entertaining mind-boggle), talked me in. Call it a two-for-two deal.

Reading through the commentary left by others, I'm troubled by the negativity being attached. Exactly when did it become a crime to invoke plot-twists as a story device? The last I knew, filmmakers such as Hitchcock and Preminger relied upon them incessantly. A twist in plot, if carried off well, can satisfy viewers and fire the imagination.

Personally, I find the romantic drama as a genre in dire need of a wake-up call. Films such as this one, Closer, Unfaithful, Wicker Park, and very few others, are daring to attempt something original, whether it be a more frank look at relationships, a less clichéd or sexist view of infidelity, or a new take on the love triangle... and by new I mean new in both this film and Wicker Park. Rather than recycle Shakespeare, Jane Austen, or An Affair To Remember for the forty-billionth time, the director and cast broke new ground.

This is not a perfect film, and really, honestly, who gets entertainment from "perfect" films? Admiration, yes. Respect, yes. Are perfect films fun though? That's an argument for a forum... I gave this an eight out of ten, with two points off for those imperfections. The three leads are solid; the story is clever and solid enough. The two points to perfection can easily be forgiven.

I had fun watching this movie.