A troubled New Yorker named Eli (Joshua Burge) has a meaningful encounter with French tourist Joelle (Chloe Groussard) in Alex Andre’s low-budget indie meet-cute that starts out rough but grows on you as the two main characters get to know each other.
We meet Eli as he’s in some sort of haze, while dealing with a drug dealer in Central Park. We meet Joelle as she’s roaming around Central Park on her own in a similar daze, her New York visit not going particularly well for her. When they meet, Joelle convinces Eli to show her around the city, which is exactly what he does over the course of the next day and night.
A first-time filmmaker with only a short under his belt, Andre has made an extremely New York movie that really takes advantage of some of the city’s more scenic locations. At times, it doesn’t feel like he’s working from a fully-developed script – or from any script at all – and some of the camera work gets shaky almost to the point of being distracting. Because of this, it takes some time to get invested in the characters played by Burge and Groussard. As you spend more time with them, they get to know each other, we get to know them, and things start to click all around.
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Pratfall seems very much like a movie that could have been filmed in chronological order, and because of that, the performances by the two actors improve as their characters spend more time together. At first, it’s not clear what is going on with Eli, whose erratic behavior makes you wonder if he has minor mental health issues or is on drugs himself. By comparison, Joelle’s character really grows on you, just as she’s able to break through Eli’s tough and seemingly care-free exterior. Being unfamiliar with both actors beforehand, it takes that much more time to warm up to their characters, but it’s a testament to Andre that he knew these characters would eventually come into their own.
Pratfall is very much in the vein of Richard Linklater’s “Before” movies, or some of the movies directed by one of those films’ French co-star, Julie Delpy. It’s hard to imagine that those films weren’t a large influence on Alex Andre. Although his writing and filmmaking chops aren’t quite up to those beloved romance films, Pratfall does succeed in keeping you invested in these two characters’ interaction. Even Andre’s camerawork improves as the film goes along, making the viewer feel as if they’re watching a filmmaker developing their style while making their first feature.
The movie ends in a dark place that might throw some viewers off, and it’s likely to counter much of the good will built up by this enjoyable pairing and their voyage across the city. Even so,
Pratfall does win you over with its low-budget romantic comedy leanings that epitomizes things that can really happen when you live in or visit New York City.
Rating: 7/10
Pratfall is available to rent and own on all North American digital HD internet, cable, and satellite platforms.