19 MONTHS (CANADIAN FILM CENTRE, 2002)

By Rick Jackson

Benjamin Ratner and Angela Vint star in 19 Months, one of the most ridiculous movies I've ever seen, Canadian or otherwise. They play two people who have been living commonlaw for nineteen months and have mutually agreed to separate. On their last night, they have trouble agreeing to what movie they should rent so they decide to stay home.

Written and directed by Randall Cole, it gets lost in its own labyrinth of emotions and melodramatic spaces. After watching Ratner and Vint for a half‑hour, you are ready to walk away from this movie. They are clearly not destined to be in love for ever, and this point gets even clearer by the end.

Vint's Melanie is clearly the more mature and responsible half of their relationship. She wants to grow as a person and pursue her ambition as a struggling painter determined to put on her one‑woman exhibit at a local gallery.

At the opposite end is Ratner's Rob who is self conscious, annoying and not in tune with his true feelings. A professional student with three degrees under his belt, he is currently working on his fourth. When it comes to his love life, he is not honest with himself or others.

19 Months might well have been subtitled, "A Primer On How Not To Date" but it doesn't deserve any kudos. It is entirely forgettable.

February 22, 2003