Having seen God Help the Girl evolve from it's Kickstarter roots to its coming together as an actual film; I was really looking forward to the final completion. The trailer alone seemed to promise a charming little story of a fledgling pop group and the quirks of its individual members.
Though attractive and feel-good, the actual film was a bit disappointing. The music seems to pop up randomly and awkwardly, serving little purpose to the story, and the choreography is clumsy. Some parts of the musical numbers are almost embarrassing to watch. Even the wonderful Emily Browning just resorts to a doe-eyed pouting when singing the songs, as they are often unrelated to the scene and I presume she was left clueless as to how else to perform them.
The non-musical moments aren't much better. The scenes don't run smoothly from each other. For example, one moment the band are infuriated at their lack of progress. They have songs, but they have yet to perform any of them. Yet, upon advertising for members they are chased by an enthusiastic mob of auditionees. It creates a fun scene but it came from nowhere and then leads nowhere.
A French love interest for Eve is another redundant theme. Nothing is offered to the plot and nothing is gained. He disappears just as unnoticeably as he entered. Later on, Eve gets wasted and parties around town with a dancer who only appears for that one scene, another confusing addition.
Where the film shines is in the moments where the band members just live their lives and dream. There is a lovely scene in which Eve, Cassie and James take a boat trip, talk frivolously and drink wine. Later on, they play in an outdoor gym whilst discussing their intentions for their band . And another scene at the pool when they debate David Bowie's place in a girl's coming of age. Sweet moments that endear us to the film and the characters.
But, for all these moments, the main characters of Eve, Cassie and James are only ever touched upon superficially. We get that Eve is troubled, James is a dreamer and Cassie is child-like. But that is all we get.
In the final scenes Eve overdoses, and the only thing this serves to the film is her awakening that the band isn't good enough for her. At the end Eve just gets on a train and leaves, bored of the band and their music. The relationship established throughout the film just thrown away, and it leaves the film to crumble around it. At the end of the film we are exactly where we were at the beginning, and it feels like a monumental waste of time.
Having said all of this, I did find the film very cute and watchable. It is sweet and charming, almost twee at times, but I just feel that it could have been so much more than it actually was. I also feel that James and Cassie were the protagonists of this film and that the story would have been better suited to them. It would have been more likable. The film ends with them riding off together on Cassie's tandem bicycle, and we realise too late that we should have been rooting for these two the entire film, and not the selfish and destructive Eve.
Though attractive and feel-good, the actual film was a bit disappointing. The music seems to pop up randomly and awkwardly, serving little purpose to the story, and the choreography is clumsy. Some parts of the musical numbers are almost embarrassing to watch. Even the wonderful Emily Browning just resorts to a doe-eyed pouting when singing the songs, as they are often unrelated to the scene and I presume she was left clueless as to how else to perform them.
The non-musical moments aren't much better. The scenes don't run smoothly from each other. For example, one moment the band are infuriated at their lack of progress. They have songs, but they have yet to perform any of them. Yet, upon advertising for members they are chased by an enthusiastic mob of auditionees. It creates a fun scene but it came from nowhere and then leads nowhere.
A French love interest for Eve is another redundant theme. Nothing is offered to the plot and nothing is gained. He disappears just as unnoticeably as he entered. Later on, Eve gets wasted and parties around town with a dancer who only appears for that one scene, another confusing addition.
Where the film shines is in the moments where the band members just live their lives and dream. There is a lovely scene in which Eve, Cassie and James take a boat trip, talk frivolously and drink wine. Later on, they play in an outdoor gym whilst discussing their intentions for their band . And another scene at the pool when they debate David Bowie's place in a girl's coming of age. Sweet moments that endear us to the film and the characters.
But, for all these moments, the main characters of Eve, Cassie and James are only ever touched upon superficially. We get that Eve is troubled, James is a dreamer and Cassie is child-like. But that is all we get.
In the final scenes Eve overdoses, and the only thing this serves to the film is her awakening that the band isn't good enough for her. At the end Eve just gets on a train and leaves, bored of the band and their music. The relationship established throughout the film just thrown away, and it leaves the film to crumble around it. At the end of the film we are exactly where we were at the beginning, and it feels like a monumental waste of time.
Having said all of this, I did find the film very cute and watchable. It is sweet and charming, almost twee at times, but I just feel that it could have been so much more than it actually was. I also feel that James and Cassie were the protagonists of this film and that the story would have been better suited to them. It would have been more likable. The film ends with them riding off together on Cassie's tandem bicycle, and we realise too late that we should have been rooting for these two the entire film, and not the selfish and destructive Eve.