Movie Review: Sometimes It Takes a Fantasy Like Ruby Sparks to ...

I?d never thought of it this way before, but falling for somebody is a creative act. Two people come together and give birth to something new: a relationship. Even couples who fiercely maintain their individual independence find themselves slightly changed by the experience of handing over a piece of their hearts.

Writing a novel can work much the same. The author gives birth to a character, often gives his heart to a character, and can?t help but find himself altered by this effort.

Ruby Sparks is a wonderful film in which these truths converge. The division between fantasy and reality is blurred, and it matters not that the distinction between the two is never made clear, because this is a story about an everyday act of magic. This is a story about the hard truths of love.

Calvin (Paul Dano) wrote a best-selling novel 10 years ago, when he was just 19. He lives a comfortable existence off the largesse of this early success, but suffers severe writer?s block each time he sits before his typewriter to write something new. His therapist (Elliott Gould) gives him an assignment to help break him out of his funk: he asks him to imagine meeting someone who?s kind to his dog.

For some reason this works, and while he?s asleep Calvin meets Ruby Sparks (Zoe Kazan). A fit of inspiration follows, as he spends days and nights writing about her, detailing the story of her life. She is, literally, the girl of his dreams.

Which is why Calvin?s initial euphoria over finally getting work of some quality onto the page soon gives way to another round of depression. He realizes that he?s in love with Ruby, and that he?s happier in his fantasies with her than stuck in a reality without.

But then, suddenly one morning, Ruby is standing in his kitchen. She?s real, and she?s his girlfriend.

Everything about her is just as he?s written it. She?s originally from Dayton, Ohio, free-spirited, and crazy about him. Calvin discovers that anything he writes about Ruby becomes reality ? if he types ?Ruby speaks only in French,? for instance, she will. He reveals this secret to his alpha-male brother Harry (Chris Messina), who encourages him to tweak Ruby to a state of absolute physical perfection, but Calvin believes she?s already perfect.

Don?t we all think that about our beloved when we first fall head over heels? Then time passes, the relationship matures, and ? even if it?s still wonderful ? it?s no longer perfect. Calvin becomes concerned when cracks begin to form between Ruby and him. He?s desperate to restore their relationship to its ideal beginnings. He knows the power over her that his typewriter provides, but is it right to force her to change merely to suit his desires?

The screenplay, written by Kazan for her and real-life boyfriend Dano to perform, is both playful and wise. Calvin comes to understand much about loving and letting go, but he doesn?t get there easily. The final scene between Calvin and Ruby is excruciating and no less painful because it?s fantastical. The emotions it portrays are more realistic than those seen in 90 percent or more of the romantic comedies that cycle through our cineplexes.

Ruby Sparks is itself an act of magic.

Source: http://frontrow.dmagazine.com/2012/08/movie-review-sometimes-it-takes-a-fantasy-like-ruby-sparks-to-capture-realities-of-love/

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