In many ways, director A.T. Sayre’s “Whatever Makes You Happy” is an accomplished romantic drama that builds on interesting conflicts. And while it may be rough around the edges in many respects, beyond its flaws there is a really good movie here. Reminiscent of “About Last Night” in certain elements, “Whatever Makes You Happy” focuses primarily on the character of protagonist Anna who spends most of her time in the safe bosom of her apartment and books. One day during a date with her boyfriend she meets the more rugged and daring aspiring musician Alex.
Alex speaks charismatically and has a great chemistry with Anna, who tends to find Alex’s sense of attitude appealing. Especially when compared to the doldrums of her current relationship. “Whatever Makes You Happy” is really an interesting insight in to relationships and how this girl feels inclined to stick to her relationship due to the pressure of her friends and the inclination of her social circle that dictates who she sees. The performances from Rachel Delante and Tyler Peck are pretty good, as they have a chemistry with one another that adds a real spice to the film, They’re incredibly opposite but bring something interesting out of one another, while the character of Anna seems to desire something she can’t quite peg throughout the course of their inevitable affair. The conflict in their affair provides some very compelling moments, especially as Delante and Peck commit to their parts. The problem with that chemistry is that director Sayre relies way too much on the element of texting and social networking to build tension and conflict and fails most times.
One thing that’s never been an interesting element of storytelling is the inclusion of texting and or chatting to create some form of friction, and Sayre often refers to the device to show some form of awkwardness and or romantic tension. With text you can’t possibly decipher any kind of emotion or quirk, so the texting is often blank and pointless and lacks any real dramatic momentum. The moments where Alex is having trouble Private Messaging Anna are monotonous very quickly, and there’s never a real idea of what they’re feeling unless Sayre cuts to their initial reactions. I also felt much of the story went off the rails once the overall story has been told, with a baffling montage between Anna and Alex that didn’t add anything overall to the story, and a finale that could have been trimmed down for succinctness, greatly.
“Whatever Makes You Happy” is long in the tooth and with ten minutes cut, it could have provided a much more well paced story. As for the general conflict with Anna’s boyfriend Kevin, and Alex, director Sayre plays it wonderfully with an excellent dramatic confrontation that the performers handle with sheer grace, leaving Anna to feel like she not only made her bed, but has to really lie in it. Whether she made a mistakes is ultimately up to the viewer. The cast in the film really make “Whatever Makes You Happy” a very worthwhile production, and director Sayre knows how to conduct his performers to bring out the heart of the story. It’s definitely rough around the edges and is much too long, but all things considered A.T. Sayre’s “Whatever Makes You Happy” is an interesting and compelling romantic drama that sports some truly good performances from its entire cast and solid writing that make this an adult drama worthy of an audience.