What Happened Was... (1994)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Truly Dreadful Film

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Jackie, a secretary in a legal firm, invites Michael, a paralegal in her office, over for a dinner date. The film follows the course of their evening as the two manage to surprise each other with hidden, unexpected twists of character.In many ways, this is not unlike Richard Linklater's "Before" trilogy, because it amounts to basically a couple in conversation for 90 minutes. The key difference, however, is that Linklater utilized some great locations. Noonan adapted the film from a stage play, and this is quite evident... it could easily be shot in one room, whether it be an apartment, a library, or pretty much anywhere.The writing is good and the acting is strong, but the film itself is just alright. It never really rises above the stage play, and it seems a shame to translate something from a play to a film without making the necessary adjustments.

Two work colleagues share an awkward first date in the woman's high rise apartment in this unusual film written and directed by and starring Tom Noonan. The movie is based on a stage play that Noonan wrote and he turns it into a very cinematic experience with lots of mobile camera-work early on and some unsettling cutaway shots later on as lead actress Karen Sillas reads a ghoulish children's tale. The juice of the film comes from the constant sense of uneasiness in the air and a general sense of something sinister afoot. Both characters have moments in which they seem borderline psychotic and it gradually becomes clear that they are not as good friends as they thought they were when together in the workplace -- which may be the very point of the film. Promising as all this might sound, the film never quite capitalises on its implications of sinister things out there. Noonan's constant glances out the window (and the voyeuristic shots that look back at him) create a particularly ominous mood in the story-reading scene, but this mood shatters once the story is over. Other offbeat touches, like a fluorescent light flickering as Noonan enters the apartment, also add little to the tale. If not a wholly satisfying film, 'What Happened Was...' is at least daringly different and it is incredibly encapsulating for a film that essentially just consists of two people talking. Both characters are extremely easy to relate to, and some of the more subtle directing touches (silences; repeated dialogue) go a long way to rendering both of them as very human despite their individual quirks.

I watched this movie the other night and I thoroughly enjoyed it. However, you must be in the proper mood to enjoy a movie such as this. This movie centers around 2 lonely characters, man and woman, on a 'first' date at the woman's apartment. This movie is not too funny nor is it fast paced. The movie simply tries to flesh out each person's character for 90 minutes. This movie also led to some candid discussion between my fiancé and I, especially about the man's 'troubles' at the end of the film. We also discussed if there would be a 'second' date between them. The movie is steeped in realism and is shot very well. Worth a look if you're in the proper mood for a slow but interesting, character development story. 6 out of 10.

this is a wonderfully emotional film with truly authentic characters and a gripping climax. exactly what film-making should be: two people in a room, an intro, a plot point, a midpoint, a second plot point and the outro where everything is the exact reverse from what it was in the beginning. a lesson in storytelling. naturally, the location is less than exciting, it literally all plays in a room, but then aren't these production limits exactly what seems to continuously spark enormous creativity? I watched this on charlie kaufman's recommendation (uh, from an interview), so take it from him. 10/10