Girl with oodles of charm

GiRL meets boy. Girl dumps boy. Girl bumps into boy again and has second thoughts.

There’s nothing very original about this New York- based romantic comedy, a pleasingly compact, 91-minute debut feature for writer- director sophie Brooks, but it has oodles of charm and gentle wit. i can’t say i ever quite laughed out loud, but the smile never left my face.

Zosia Mamet (pictured), the daughter of illustrious playwright David Mamet, gives a very engaging lead performance as Diana, a character who qualifies for that slightly dreaded word ‘kooky’, in the manner of Diane Keaton in Annie hall, or Greta Gerwig in the 2012 film Frances ha.

Diana is an aspiring novelist, but makes ends meet by working in an upmarket bridal shop, which is no doubt intended as ironic because she is herself rather forlornly single and has been since returning to Brooklyn from two years living in London. When she moves into a new apartment building, she is discombobulated to find that her downstairs neighbour is her former boyfriend, Ben (Matthew shear). inevitably, he is now dating someone else. The story see- saws in time, plunging into the past to learn how and why their relationship ended, before returning to the present, to find out whether it might be reignited. That’s pretty much all you need to know. Mamet is perfectly cast, the more so as she is quirkily attractive, but certainly no roaring beauty. That’s a romcom rarity these days. similarly, Ben is a little chubby, definitely not what you’d call beefcake. it all adds to the story’s air of authenticity. it really is very easy to believe in — another rarity for a romcom.