High quality study of relationships. (High Fidelity (DVD))

Member Name: RussellC

Product:	High Fidelity (DVD)
Date:	21/08/00 (17 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Amusing, honest account of a break up.

Disadvantages: You need to empaphise with Rob to enjoy this.

I've never read any of Nick Hornby's books and to be honest they're not somethign that generally appeal to me. However with a shortage of other interesting films at the cinema and with John Cusack in the lead (and a cowriter) I decide to see High Fidelity. What I saw was an enjoyable, dry comedy about the nature of relationships.

Rob (John Cusack) has just been left by his girlfriend Laura (Iden Hjejle) and is spun nto a depressive search for meaning in his life and relationships. Rob runs a small record shop in Chicago with a dedicated and often obsessive client-base. Rob himself is obsessed with music as his record collection shows, however he feels he is superior to those who come to his shop. Two clerks work in his store, Dick a shy, sensitive man and Barry an abrasive, opinionated loud mouth, happy to scare off customers. Laura's departure to live with Ian throws Rob's life out of skew and he starts to look for answers. He comes to realise that he hates pretty much everything about it, he's sick of the shop and his two assistants and generally feels hard done by. If anything the character is selfish and blind to all the advantages he's had, if anything we should dislike him. It's the very fact that he has these feelings and comes to realise them that creates an empathy for the lead character. If anything Rob represents thoughts anf feelings many of which I have felt at some point in my life and as such however wrong he is at times it's hard not to empathise with him.

Rob and his friends often indulge in games of 'top 5', creating lists of the most significant albums for example. Rob privately works out his top 5 break ups of all time and reflects on these throughout the course of the film. So as Rob struggles to win back Lauras or come to terms with her absence we see numerous flashbacks and recollections of times past. Rob frequently talks to the camera, giving further insights into his mind it'
;s an approach I think works well, making the audience feel like something of a confidante. As a comedy it's never hilarious, but there are some humorous scens, usually relying on our own familiarity with Rob's experiences. For example when Ian visits Rob to ask him to calm down and stop calling Laura, Rob fantasises about standing up to him, and even beating him up, but the reality is that Ian says his peace and leaves. It's easy to understand those fantasies where you stand up to others, and equally easy to understand the reality where you do nothing.

Overall I enjoyed the film a lot, it takes a straight forward plot about a break up and looks in depth at its consequences on the man involved. Perhaps its focus on the man in the relationship makes it less balanced as a study of a break up, but I don't think that's the point. What we see here is one perspective that is often skewed and drvien by the wrong motives, but is at least an honest account of such a position. Acting is excellent, Cusack really seems to be Rob, I suspect his involvement in scripting helped with that. The characters all seems genuine, though Barry can be a little over the top. The comedy often works and is generally understated which suits the emotional content of the film. The music is generally excellent and varied, a film with a soundtrack I'll be looking to buy. Despite this I couldn't help feeling that there was a certain spark missing from the film that stopped it being truly great. It makes a pleasingly intelligent change from many of the other films Hollywood has been spitting out at the moment.

Summary: