Charlotte Sometimes
Joe Nguyen, staff writer
Oct. 1, 2003

Synopsis
Michael is a Japanese American auto mechanic torn between a restrictive traditional upbringing and his own potent dreams and desires. Secretly in love with the girlishly sexy, Chinese American Lori, Michael represses his longing (and growing resentment) to maintain their cherished friendship.

When he encounters the mysterious Darcy at the local nightspot, Michael is forced to choose between a daring tryst with an alluring stranger, and the habitual comfort of his bittersweet obsession.

Review
I first heard about this movie after "Better Luck Tomorrow," came out in theaters. This was a movie starring Asian-American characters and it dealt with a subject that hasn't been seen too widely in Asian-American cinema - Romance and Sexuality. Critics were widely raving about how good this movie was. It won numerous awards, including the Best Narrative Feature at the 2002 San Diego Asian Film Festival and the Special Jury Prize for Narrative Filmmaking at the 2002 Florida Film Festival.

The cast (from left to right): Eugenia Yuan, Matt Westmore, Jacqueline Kim and Michael Idemoto.

The movie starts out focusing on Michael (Michael Idemoto) who is a mechanic. He works long hours at the family run auto shop and then returns home. Justin (Matt Westmore) is a stock broker who is the boyfriend of Lori (Eugenia Yuan), a struggling actress who is a tenant of Michael's. Sitting in his house, Michael hears the sounds of passionate lovemaking coming from his tenant's floor. After Justin's asleep, Lori heads up to Michael's room where they crash on the couch and watch an animé movie.

Michael appears to have a secret attraction to Lori, but their friendship (and Justin), hinders any chance of advancement. One night, Michael goes to the bar and meets Darcy(Jacqueline Kim). Where as Lori is cute and peppy, Darcy is more somber and mature.

The acting in this movie was quite good. Idemoto plays the loneliness card to a tee. Always somber and lethargic, Michael shows the signs of being lonely, but as he said, "I'm not afraid of being alone." Sitting there watching, Idemoto makes you want to root for Michael. Yuan's character is an idealist. Always happy and always thinking that things are the way they should be. Her character is naive, and Yuan plays it wonderfully. Westmore gives Justin a sleezeball feel to him. Although at times he may appear friendly and sociable, there's always a feeling that he's evil. Kim gives Darcy a mysterious aura. She seems to be fairly open, but there's a sense of intrigue that Michael appears to be attracted to.

Eric Byner does a solid job of using his $80,000 budget to tell the story. There are a lot of shots that are shown with no verbal communication between the characters, but as a viewer, you know exactly what is going on. This style causes the movie to feel like it's moving a bit slow, but I believe that was the purpose. There are a lot of questions that are posed in the movie that don't get answered for a long time, if they get answered at all.

This is a thinker's movie. If you're looking for a movie that's romantic with light humor, this isn't for you. This movie will leave you feeling a bit uneasy, but it will leave you with questions.

Joe gives "Charlotte Sometimes":

Joe Nguyen is a staff writer for asiaXpress.com. You can reach Joe at joe@asiaxpress.com.

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