A young writer seems unable to write her second novel after having a decent success with her first published work. One day, she meets an oddball who’s trying to survive something from his past by creating new personas for himself at all times. As she starts to really like him, he discovers that she has used him for writing inspiration and disappears.
Writer and directed by Ken Mok, a name familiar if you watch a lot of reality television, as his feature film debut. The film is well-written and quite well-directed. Of course, the subject and how it’s handled will appeal to some much more than others and the film’s overall quirkiness will turn some off completely. As one who is normally turned off by this style of filmmaking, The Right One comes off not as an annoying piece trying to be hip, but as a movie about people with odd personalities and it works. It’s not the best ever, but it’s decently entertaining for an evening at home in PJs and blankets.
The cast is mostly likely why this quirky story worked for this viewer. The lead is played by Cleopatra Coleman who gives a likable quality to Sara, making easy to watch evolve on screen, make mistakes, and try to redeem herself. She’s a fun and talented artist to watch both as her character and outside of it. Playing her agent is Iliza Schlesinger who steals a few scenes here and there and will be the appeal of this for many. She plays her character as in your face, a bit brash, but also as someone who gets things done. Rounding out the leads is Nick Thune as Godfrey, the source of Sara’s inspiration. Thune takes Godfrey and makes each of his personas come off different on screen, creating a bunch of different characters and gifting them each with something special. His work helps the film move along even though a few choices are a bit odd at times and some of the writing for this character makes his a character that could have been delved deeper into and could have had a much stronger impact with a story of coping and how men are expected to not show emotions and just keep going.
And this is where some viewers will detach from the film. The character of Godfrey could have been so much more and possibly should have been the central one with an important message about mental health in men and how it’s often approached without delving deep enough just like in this film. That being said, The Right One comes off as more of a light viewing experience and it achieves this with plenty of fun scenes, some quirk that feels properly approached, and music that gives the whole thing life.