Lola Versus (2012)

Powerful

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

I had high hopes for this movie but it disappointed me a little. I wasn't to surprised to see the large amount of low ratings because there have been much better movies produced that are quite similar to this one. Overall it was a good movie that felt a lot more real than most other movies I have seen lately and that what made it so interesting to watch. the movie felt like it was about a real person going through life and not a scripted movie like it actually is. Some of the lines were unnecessary like "I was an incubator baby" but apart from those bits of dialog the movie felt well paced and well scripted. The movie took awhile to to really interest me but I was glad that I stayed watching it the whole time because in the end It was sort of worth while.

Saw this last night on cable and really loved it! Didn't know anything about but as soon as it started I could tell it was worth watching just based on the initial opening shots. This is great economical film making with great actors in NYC working with a fun, believable script that captures what it feels like to lose a relationship and find yourself at the end of your twenties in a big city. I'm not sure what the budget was but this film could be used as a template for anyone trying to make a LB film. You don't need anything other than great actors who are believable in their respective parts, great cinematography, fine editing and a script that arcs properly and tells a story in a fun way. Congratulations to everyone involved! I'm sure you will all be working a lot! :) D

With having heard about Greta Gerwig for the first time a few years ago,in connection to being the "queen" of the Mumblecore genre,I was pleasantly surprised to recently receive 2 Gerwig Mumblecore titles from a friend,which led to me getting ready to see the "Mumblecore queen" in action for the first time.The plot:As her 30th birthday appears on the horizon,29 year old Lola begins to feel that her dream life is about to become a reality,when Lola's first (and only) boyfriend Luke proposes to her.Getting prepared for her big day,Lola is stopped from making her dream a reality,due to Luke telling Lola that he needs some "space" between him and herself just 3 weeks before the wedding.Surrounding her self with loyal friends Henry and Alice,Lola begins attempting to move the painful feeling which Luke has left behind,by preparing to experience life as a single for the first time ever.View on the film:For the screenplay of the film,co-writer's Daryl Wein (who also directs) and Zoe Lister Jones (who also gives a strong performance as Lola's walking on eggshells friend Alice) takes a refreshing approach in avoiding the traditional boy-meets-girl route,by making Lola's "dream ending" one that crumbles apart within the first 10 minutes of the film,which leads to Jones and Wein instead showing Lola trying to build a good,but realistic single life for herself.Making sure that Lola's transition from being engaged to newly single is one that never becomes too downbeat,Wein and Jones fill the movie with whip-smart dialogue,which along with giving the film a real snappy pace also allows for the close knitted relationship between Lola and her friends to be fully shown.Along with the sharp dialogue,Wein and Jones also show that they are not afraid to make their lead character occasionally look a bit stupid,with some of the best scenes in the film showing Lola go on some less than successful dates for the first time.Backed by Daryl Wein's smooth directing,which keeps Lola's feet firmly on the ground,whilst also showing a stylish eye for cut-aways that reveal the nightmare that Lola sees her future as being,the beautiful Greta Gerwig gives an excellent performance which carefully makes sure the films comedic moments always stay rooted to Lola's struggle of living a single life,and also shows Lola having some serious doubts on what direction her life should take.Joining Gerwig,Bill Pullman gives a fun,mini performance as Lola's dad Lenny,which is partly helped by Gerwig and Pullman having a slight resemblance to each other,whilst Hamish Linklater gives a terrific performance as Lola's loyal friend Henry,with Linklater showing what can happen when the wires of friendship unexpectedly cross.

Lola (Greta Gerwig) has a hard time finding her place in the world. So does the film. What starts out as a romantic comedy-styled drama, turns into a sex comedy, and then tries to find its way as a character study. But the character of Lola will turn off some before the film gets going and bore others who have already solved her life's problems.It has taken me a long time to warm up to Gerwig but she's surprisingly cute and likable here despite how narcissistic, self-destructive, self-involved, and sullen Lola can be. The opening of the film sees Lola in love, Lola getting engaged, and then Lola getting dumped just three weeks before the wedding.Cancelling a wedding to a man you were in love with after everything is paid for, would be torture to go through. But Lola didn't have to do that. Lola's mother (Debra Winger) cancelled the wedding for her while she cried in bed. Lola's mother and father (Bill Pullman) were likely the highlights of the film as I did laugh at the majority of their lines.The writing isn't bad. As the film ventures into sex comedy territory, the writers were going for bold, catchy lines. I disagree with the point of being quotable just for the sake of being quotable, and there are way too many examples of that in this film, but some are funny and some will likely resonate with the target audience.The target audience is not the 29-to-30 year-olds who are trying to find their place in this world. "Lola Versus" is meant for the mid-twenty-somethings who watch the HBO series "Girls" in between their meaningless, hate-filled sexual flings and their self-loathing obsessions about not having a career. For the majority of the film, that is what Lola and her friends are like. Lola describes herself as a "slutty but good person". Her best friend Alice is even worse who makes jokes about oxycodone giving her orgasms.Her ex-fiancé, her best friend-turned-boyfriend and her potential suitor were decent characters played by decent actors. Joel Kinnaman as the ex-fiancé Luke wasn't given much to do, which is a good thing for the film, as otherwise we probably would have sided with him instead of Lola.Lola came to some decent, if unimpressive, observations by the end of the film, that it probably would have served them better if "Lola Versus" was meant as a character study all along. But as is you have to suffer through a lot of moaning which most young heroines are too smart for.