Chasing Valentine

Chasing Valentine (A nice play on words in the title) tells the story of chase (Adam Langton) whose last relationship ended badly and resulted in an unexpected bereavement. Wracked with guilt two years on and still unable to connect with people and finds himself to still clinging to the memories of his ex with her old answer phone messages that he plays continually to keep her in his life. His friend who runs a local bar convinces him to come out for the night resulting in him meeting Valentine, (Gwen Cumyn) a strange English girl who he then wakes to find having crashed in his flat the next morning. Valentine has a job on the side as a fantasy cook (a non sexual culinary chef who cooks for clients with adult over tones) who has some secrets in her past and lives her life through different identities, including one she masks for her current boyfriend, a drug and gambling addict. From there things get more complicated.

Chasing Valentine is an off the wall love story, fresh an original which is a film very well anchored by the performances of the two leads, especially Langton who is extremely convincing as Chase, while Cumyn brings a nice complex layered performance as Valentine. The supporting cast especially Jen Pogue round the film out nicely too and the film is both funny and moving without resorting to too much pathos. Only the make up in a couple of scenes let it down but that's really a minor quibble, there's so many other nice touches to the film such things can be overlooked. The use of the blackboard as an allegory for the personas of the clashing characters is but one to mention. This is a great little film which might feel set in a relatively small world but has a heart far bigger than most. Recommended.